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INCA LAND
"Somethina; hidden Goandfindit. Goand look behind the Ranges —
Something lost behind the Ranges. Lost and waiting for you. Go! "
Kipling: " The Explorer "
INCA LAND
Explorations in the Highlands
of Peru
BY
HIRAM BINGHAM
Director oj the Peruvian Expeditions oj Yale University and the
National Geographic Society, Member of the American Alpine
Club, Professor of Latin- American History in Yale University;
author of "Across South America," etc.
WITH ILLUSTRATIONS
BOSTON AND NEW YORK
HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY
Jl^ift B&ibetrsiibe l^ttee CambctbQe
COPYRIGHT, I912, I913, AND 1914, BY HARPER & BROTHERS
COPYRIGHT, I913, I9IS. AND 1916, BY NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY
COPYRIGHT, 1922, BY HIRAM BINGHAM
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
SECOND IMPRESSION, NOVEHBER, 1922
CAMBRIDGE • MASSACHUSETTS
PRINTED IN THE U.S.A.
THIS VOLUME
IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED
TO
THE MUSE WHO INSPIRED IT
THE LITTLE MOTHER OF SEVEN SONS
PREFACE
THE following pages represent some of the re-
sults of four journeys into the interior of Peru
and also many explorations into the labyrinth of
early writings which treat of the Incas and their
Land. Although my travels covered only a part of
southern Peru, they took me into every variety of
climate and forced me to camp at almost every alti-
tude at which men have constructed houses or
erected tents in the Western Hemisphere — from
sea level up to 21,703 feet. It has been my lot to
cross bleak Andean passes, where there are heavy
snowfalls and low temperatures, as well as to wend
my way through gigantic canyons into the dense
jungles of the Amazon Basin, as hot and humid a re-
gion as exists anywhere in the world. The Incas
lived in a land of violent contrasts. No deserts in the
world have less vegetation than those of Sihuas and
Majes; no luxuriant tropical valleys have more
plant life than the jungles of Conservidayoc. In
Inca Land one may pass from glaciers to tree ferns
within a few hours. So also in the labyrinth of con-
temporary chronicles of the last of the Incas — no _k
historians go more rapidly from fact to fancy, from
accurate observation to grotesque imagination; no
writers omit important details and give conflicting
statements with greater frequency. The story of the
Incas is still in a maze of doubt and contradiction.
It was the mystery and romance of some of the
viii PREFACE
wonderful pictures of a nineteenth-century explorer
that first led me into the relatively unknown region
between the Apurimac and the Urubamba, some-
times called "the Cradle of the Incas." Although
my photographs cannot compete with the imagina-
tive pencil of such an artist, nevertheless, I hope that
some of them may lead future travelers to penetrate
still farther into the Land of the Incas and engage
in the fascinating game of identifying elusive places
mentioned in the chronicles.
Some of my story has already been told in Har-
per's and the National Geographic, to whose editors
acknowledgments are due for permission to use
the material in its present form. A glance at the
Bibliography will show that more than fifty articles
and monographs have been published as a result of
the Peruvian Expeditions of Yale University and the
National Geographic Society. Other reports are still
in course of preparation. My own observations are
based partly on a study of these monographs and
the writings of former travelers, partly on the maps
and notes made by my companions, and partly on a
study of our Peruvian photographs, a collection now
numbering over eleven thousand negatives. An-
other source of information was the opportunity of
frequent conferences with my fellow explorers. One
of the great advantages of large expeditions is the
bringing to bear on the same problem of minds
which have received widely different training.
My companions on these journeys were, in 1909,
Mr. Clarence L. Hay; in 191 1, Dr. Isaiah Bowman,
Professor Harry Ward Foote, Dr. William G. Erv-
PREFACE ix
ing, Messrs. Kai Hendriksen, H. L. Tucker, and
Paul B. Lanius; in 19 12, Professor Herbert E. Gre-
gory, Dr. George F. Eaton, Dr. Luther T. Nelson,
Messrs. Albert H. Bumstead, E. C. Erdis, Kenneth
C. Heald, Robert Stephenson, Paul Bestor, Osgood
Hardy, and Joseph Little; and in 1915, Dr. David
E. Ford, Messrs. O. F. Cook, Edmund Heller, E. C.
Erdis, E. L. Anderson, Clarence F. Maynard, J. J.
Hasbrouck, Osgood Hardy, Geoffrey W. Morkill,
and G. Bruce Gilbert. To these, my comrades in en-
terprises which were not always free from discom-
fort or danger, I desire to acknowledge most fully
my great obligations. In the following pages they
will sometimes recognize their handiwork; at other
times they may wonder why it has been overlooked.
Perhaps in another volume, which is already under
way and in which I hope to cover more particularly
Machu Picchu ^ and its vicinity, they will eventually
find much of what cannot be told here.
Sincere and grateful thanks are due also to Mr.
Edward S. Harkness for offering generous assistance
when aid was most difffcult to secure; to Mr. Gilbert
Grosvenor and the National Geographic Society for
liberal and enthusiastic support; to President Taft of
the United States and President Leguia of Peru for
' Many people have asked me how to pronounce Machu Picchu.
Quichua words should always be pronounced as nearly as possible as
they are written. They represent an attempt at phonetic spelling.
If the attempt is made by a Spanish writer, he is always likely to
put a silent "h" at the beginning of such words as hnilca which is
pronounced "weel-ka." In the middle of a word "h" is always
sounded. Machu Picchu is pronounced " Mah'-chew Pick'-chew."
Uiticos is pronounced " Weet'-ee-kos." Uilcapampa is pronounced
" Weel'-ka-pahm-pah." Cuzco is "Koos'-koh."
X PREFACE
official help of a most important nature ; to Messrs.
W. R. Grace & Company and to Mr. William L.
Morkill and Mr. L. S. Blaisdell, of the Peruvian Cor-
poration, for cordial and untiring cooperation; to
Don Cesare Lomellini, Don Pedro Duque, and their
sons, and Mr. Frederic B. Johnson, of Yale Univer-
sity, for many practical kindnesses; to Mrs. Blanche
Peberdy Tompkins and Miss Mary G. Reynolds for
invaluable secretarial aid ; and last, but by no means
least, to Mrs. Alfred Mitchell for making possible
the writing of this book.
Hiram Bingham
Yale University
October i, 1922
CONTENTS
I. Crossing the Desert i
11. Climbing Coropuna 23
III. To Parinacochas 50
IV. Flamingo Laice 74
V. TiTICACA 95
VI. The Vilcanota Country and the Peru-
vian Highlanders iio
VII. The Valley of the Huatanay 133
VIII. The Oldest City in South America 157
IX. The Last Four Incas 170
X. Searching for the Last Inca Capital 198
XL The Search Continued 217
XI I. The Fortress of Uiticos and the House
OF the Sun 241
XIII. ViLCABAMBA 255
XIV. Conservidayoc 266
XV. The Pampa of Ghosts 292
XVI. The Story of Tampu-tocco, a Lost City
OF the First Incas 306
XVII. Machu Picchu 314
XVIII. The Origin of Machu Picchu 326
xii CONTENTS
Glossary 341
Bibliography of the Peruvian Expeditions of
Yale University and the National Geo-
graphic Society 345
Index 353
ILLUSTRATIONS
"Something hidden. Go and find it. Go and
LOOK BEHIND THE RANGES " Frotitispiece
Sketch Map of Southern Peru i
Mt. Coropuna from the Northwest 12
Mt. Coropuna from the South 24
The Base Camp, Coropuna, at 17,300 Feet 32
Photograph by H. L. Tucker
Camping at 18,450 Feet on the Slopes of Coro-
puna 32
Photograph by H. L. Tucker
One of the Frequent Rests in the Ascent of
Coropuna 42
Photograph by H. L. Tucker
The Camp on the Summit 42
Photograph by H. L. Tucker
The Sub-Prefect of Cotahuasi, his Military
Aide, and Messrs. Tucker, Hendriksen, Bow-
man, AND Bingham inspecting the Local Rug-
weaving Industry 60
Photograph by C. Watkins
Inca Storehouses at Chichipampa, near Colta 66
Photograph by H. L. Tucker
Flamingoes on Lake Parinacochas, and Mt.
Sara SARA 78
Mr. Tucker on a Mountain Trail near Caraveli 90
The Main Street of Chuquibamba 90
Photograph by H. L. Tucker
A Lake Titicaca Balsa at Puno 98
xiv ILLUSTRATIONS
A Step-topped Niche on the Island of Koati 98
Indian Alcaldes AT Santa Rosa 114
Native Druggists in the Plaza of Sicuani 114
Laying down the Warp for a Blanket; near the
Pass of La Raya 120
Plowing a Potato-Field at La Raya 120
The Ruins of the Temple of Viracocha at
Racche 128
Route Map of the Peruvian Expedition of 1912 132
Lucre Basin, Lake Muyna, and the City Wall
OF Piquillacta 136
Sacsahuaman: Detail of Lower Terrace Wall 140
Ruins of the Aqueduct of Rumiccolca 140
Huatanay Valley, Cuzco, and the Ayahuaycco
Que BR ADA 150
Map of Peru and View of Cuzco 158
From the "Speculum Orbis Terrarum," Antwerp, 1578
Towers of Jesuit Church with Cloisters and
Tennis Court of University, Cuzco 162
Glaciers between Cuzco and Uiticos 170
The Urubamba Canyon: A Reason for the
Safety of the Incas in Uilcapampa 176
YucAY, Last Home of Sayri Tupac 186
Part of the Nuremberg Map of 1599, showing
Pincos and the Andes Mountains 198
Route Map of the Peruvian Expedition of 1915 202
Mt. Veronica and Salapunco, the Gateway to
Uilcapampa 206
Grosvenor Glacier and Mt. Salcantay 210
The Road between Maquina and Mandor
Pampa, near Machu Picchu 214
Huadquina 220
ILLUSTRATIONS xv
Ruins of Yurak Rumi near Huadquina 225
Plan and elevations drawn by A. H. Bumstead
PUCYURA AND THE HiLL OF ROSASPATA IN THE VlL-
CABAMBA Valley 238
Principal Doorway of the Long Palace at
RoSASPATA 242
Photograph by E. C. Erdis
Another Doorway in the Ruins of Rosaspata 242
Northeast Face of Yurak Rumi 246
Plan of the Ruins of the Temple of the Sun
at Nusta Isppana 248
Drawn by A. H. Bumstead
Carved Seats and Platforms of Nusta Isppana 250
Two of the Seven Seats near the Spring under
THE Great White Rock 250
Photograph by A. H. Bumstead
Nusta Isppana 256
Quispi Cusi testifying about Inca Ruins 268
Photograph by H. W. Foote
One of our Bearers crossing the Pampaconas
River 268
Photograph by H. W. Foote
Saavedra and his Inca Pottery 288
Inca Gable at Espiritu Pampa 288
Photograph by H. L. Tucker
Inca Ruins in the Jungles of Espiritu Pampa 294
Campa Men at Espiritu Pampa 302
Photograph by H. L. Tucker
Campa Women and Children at Espiritu Pampa 302
Photograph by H. L. Tucker
Puma Urco, near Paccaritampu 306
The Best Inca Wall at Maucallacta, near
Paccaritampu 312
xvi ILLUSTRATIONS
The Caves of Puma Urco, near Paccaritampu 312
Flashlight View of Interior of Cave, Machu
PiccHu 320
Temple over Cave at Machu Picchu; suggested
BY THE Author as the Probable Site of Tam-
pu-Tocco 320
Detail of Principal Temple, Machu Picchu 324
Detail of Exterior of Temple of the Three
Windows, Machu Picchu 324
The Masonry Wall with Three Windows,
Machu Picchu 328
The Gorges, opening Wide Apart, reveal Uil-
capampa's Granite Citadel, the Crown of
Inca Land: Machu Picchu 338
Except as otherwise indicated the illustrations are from
photographs by the author.
INCA LAND
INCA LAND
CHAPTER I
CROSSING THE DESERT
A KIND friend in Bolivia once placed in my
hands a copy of a most interesting book by
the late E. George Squier, entitled *'Peru. Travel
and Exploration in the Land of the Incas." In that
volume is a marvelous picture of the Apurimac
Valley. In the foreground is a delicate suspension
bridge which commences at a tunnel in the face of a
precipitous cliff and hangs in mid-air at great height
above the swirling waters of the "great speaker."
In the distance, towering above a mass of stupen-
dous mountains, is a magnificent snow-capped peak.
The desire to see the Apurimac and experience the
thrill of crossing that bridge decided me in favor of
an overland journey to Lima.
As a result I went to Cuzco, the ancient capital
of the mighty empire of the Incas, and was there
urged by the Peruvian authorities to visit some
newly re-discovered Inca ruins. As readers of
"Across South America" will remember, these
ruins were at Choqquequirau, an interesting place
on top of a jungle-covered ridge several thousand
feet above the roaring rapids of the great Apurimac.
2 INCA LAND
There was some doubt as to who had originally lived
here. The prefect insisted that the ruins represented
the residence of the Inca Manco and his sons, who
had sought refuge from Pizarro and the Spanish con-
querors of Peru in the Andes between the Apurimac
and Urubamba rivers.
While Mr. Clarence L. Hay and I were on the
slopes of Choqquequirau the clouds would occasion-
ally break away and give us tantalizing glimpses of
snow-covered mountains. There seemed to be an
unknown region, "behind the Ranges," which might
contain great possibilities. Our guides could tell us
nothing about it. Little was to be found in books.
Perhaps Manco's capital was hidden there. For
months afterwards the fascination of the unknown
drew my thoughts to Choqquequirau and beyond.
In the words of Kipling's "Explorer";
"... a voice, as bad as Conscience, rang interminable changes
On one everlasting Whisper day and night repeated — so:
'Something hidden. Go and find it. Go and look behind the
Ranges —
Something lost behind the Ranges. Lost and waiting for you.
Go!'"
To add to my unrest, during the following sum-
mer I read Bandelier's "Titicaca and Koati," which
had just appeared. In one of the interesting foot-
notes was this startling remark: "It is much to be
desired that the elevation of the most prominent
peaks of the western or coast range of Peru be accu-
rately determined. It is likely . . . that Coropuna,
in the Peruvian coast range of the Department Are-
quipa, is the culminating point of the continent. It
CROSSING THE DESERT 3
exceeds 23,000 feet in height, whereas Aconcagua
[conceded to be the highest peak in the Western
Hemisphere] is but 22,763 feet (6940 meters) above
sea level." His estimate was based on a survey made
by the civil engineers of the Southern Railways of
Peru, using a section of the railroad as a base. My
sensations when I read this are difficult to describe.
Although I had been studying South American his-
tory and geography for more than ten years, I did
not remember ever to have heard of Coropuna. On
most maps it did not exist. Fortunately, on one of
the sheets of Raimondi's large-scale map of Peru,
I finally found "Coropuna — 6,949 m." — 9 meters
higher than Aconcagua! — one hundred miles north-
west of Arequipa, near the 73d meridian west of
Greenwich.
Looking up and down the 73d meridian as it
crossed Peru from the Amazon Valley to the Pacific
Ocean, I saw that it passed very near Choqque-
quirau, and actually traversed those very lands
"behind the Ranges" which had been beckoning to
me. The coincidence was intriguing. The desire to
go and find that "something hidden " was now reen-
forced by the temptation to go and see whether
Coropuna really was the highest mountain in Amer-
ica. There followed the organization of an expedi-
tion whose object was a geographical reconnaissance
of Peru along the 73d meridian, from the head of
canoe navigation on the Urubamba to tidewater on
the Pacific. We achieved more than we expected.
Our success was due in large part to our "unit-
food-boxes," a device containing a balanced ration
4 INCA LAND
which Professor Harry W. Foote had cooperated
with me in assembHng. The object of our idea was
to facilitate the provisioning of small field parties by
packing in a single box everything that two men
would need in the way of provisions for a given
period. These boxes have given such general satis-
faction, not only to the explorers themselves, but to
the surgeons who had the responsibility of keeping
them in good condition, that a few words in regard
to this feature of our equipment may not be unwel-
come.
The best unit-food-box provides a balanced ration
for two men for eight days, breakfast and supper
being hearty, cooked meals, and luncheon light and
uncooked. It was not intended that the men should
depend entirely on the food-boxes, but should vary
their diet as much as possible with whatever the
country afforded, which in southern Peru frequently
means potatoes, corn, eggs, mutton, and bread.
Nevertheless each box contained sliced bacon, tinned
corned beef, roast beef, chicken, salmon, crushed
oats, milk, cheese, coffee, sugar, rice, army bread,
salt, sweet chocolates, assorted jams, pickles, and
dried fruits and vegetables. By seeing that the jam,
dried fruits, soups, and dried vegetables were well
assorted, a sufficient variety was procured without
destroying the balanced character of the ration. On
account of the great difficulty of transportation in
the southern Andes we had to eliminate foods that
contained a large amount of water, like French peas,
baked beans, and canned fruits, however delicious
and desirable they might be. In addition to food, we
CROSSING THE DESERT 5
found it desirable to include in each box a cake of
laundry soap, two yards of dish toweling, and three
empty cotton-cloth bags, to be used for carrying
lunches and collecting specimens. The most highly
appreciated article of food in our boxes was the
rolled oats, a dish which on account of its being al-
ready partially cooked was easily prepared at high
elevations, where rice cannot be properly boiled. It
was difficult to satisfy the members of the Expedi-
tion by providing the right amount of sugar. At the
beginning of the field season the allowance — one
third of a pound per day per man — seemed exces-
sive, and I was criticized for having overloaded the
boxes. After a month in the field the allowance
proved to be too small and had to be supplemented.
Many people seem to think that it is one of the
duties of an explorer to "rough it," and to "trust to
luck" for his food. I had found on my first two
expeditions, in Venezuela and Colombia and across
South America, that the result of being obliged to
subsist on irregular and haphazard rations was most
unsatisfactory. While "roughing it" is far more en-
ticing to the inexperienced and indiscreet explorer,
I learned in Peru that the humdrum expedient of
carefully preparing, months in advance, a compre-
hensive bill of fare sufficiently varied, wholesome,
and well-balanced, is "the better part of valor."
The truth is that providing an abundance of appe-
tizing food adds very greatly to the effectiveness of a
party. To be sure, it may mean trouble and expense
for one's transportation department, and some of
the younger men may feel that their reputations as
6 INCA LAND
explorers are likely to be damaged if it is known that
strawberry jam, sweet chocolate and pickles are fre-
quently found on their menu ! Nevertheless, experi-
ence has shown that the results of "trusting to luck "
and "living as the natives do" means not only loss of
efficiency in the day's work, but also lessened powers
of observation and diminished enthusiasm for the
drudgery of scientific exploration. Exciting things
are always easy to do, no matter how you are living,
but frequently they produce less important results
than tasks which depend upon daily drudgery; and
daily drudgery depends upon a regular supply of
wholesome food.
We reached Arequipa, the proposed base for our
campaign against Mt. Coropuna, in June, 191 1. We
learned that the Peruvian "winter" reaches its
climax in July or August, and that it would be folly
to try to climb Coropuna during the winter snow-
storms. On the other hand, the "summer months,"
beginning with November, are cloudy and likely to
add fog and mist to the difficulties of climbing a new
mountain. Furthermore, June and July are the best
months for exploration in the eastern slopes of the
Andes in the upper Amazon Basin, the lands "be-
hind the Ranges." Although the montana, or jungle
country, is rarely actually dry, there is less rain then
than in the other months of the year; so we decided
to go first to the Urubamba Valley. The story of our
discoveries there, of identifying Uiticos, the capital
of the last Incas, and of the finding of Machu
Picchu will be found in later chapters. In September
CROSSING THE DESERT 7
I returned to Arequipa and started the campaign
against Coropuna by endeavoring to get adequate
transportation facilities for crossing the desert.
Arequipa, as everybody knows, is the home of a
station of the Harvard Observatory, but Arequipa
is also famous for its large mules. Unfortunately,
a "mule trust" had recently been formed — need-
less to say, by an American — and I found it diffi-
cult to make any satisfactory arrangements. After
two weeks of skirmishing, the Tejada brothers ap-
peared, two arrieros, or muleteers, who seemed will-
ing to listen to our proposals. We offered them a
thousand soles (five hundred dollars gold) if they
would supply us with a pack train of eleven mules
for two months and go with us wherever we chose,
we agreeing not to travel on an average more than
seven leagues ^ a day. It sounds simple enough but
it took no end of argument and persuasion on the
part of our friends in Arequipa to convince these
worthy arrieros that they were not going to be ever-
lastingly ruined by this bargain. The trouble was
that they owned their mules, knew the great danger
of crossing the deserts that lay between us and
Mt. Coropuna, and feared to travel on unknown
trails. Like most muleteers, they were afraid of
unfamiliar country. They magnified the imaginary
evils of the road to an inconceivable pitch. The
argument that finally persuaded them to accept the
proffered contract was my promise that after the
first week the cargo would be so much less that at
* A league, usually about i}i miles, is really the distance an average
mule can walk in an hour.
8 INCA LAND
least two of the pack mules could always be free.
The Tejadas, realizing only too well the propensity
of pack animals to get sore backs and go lame, re-
garded my promise in the light of a factor of safety.
Lame mules would not have to carry loads.
Everything was ready by the end of the month.
Mr. H. L. Tucker, a member of Professor H. C.
Parker's 1910 Mt. McKinley Expedition and thor-
oughly familiar with the details of snow-and-ice-
climbing, whom I had asked to be responsible for
securing the proper equipment, was now entrusted
with planning and directing the actual ascent of
Coropuna. Whatever success was achieved on the
mountain was due primarily to Mr. Tucker's skill
and foresight. We had no Swiss guides, and had
originally Intended to ask two other members of the
Expedition to join us on the climb. However, the
exigencies of making a geological and topographical
cross section along the 73d meridian through a
practically unknown region, and across one of the
highest passes in the Andes (17,633 ft.), had delayed
the surveying party to such an extent as to make It
impossible for them to reach Coropuna before the
first of November. On account of the approach of
the cloudy season it did not seem wise to wait for
their cooperation. Accordingly, I secured In Are-
quipa the services of Mr. Caslmir Watklns, an
English naturalist, and of Mr. F. Hinckley, of the
Harvard Observatory. It was proposed that Mr.
Hinckley, who had twice ascended El MIstI (19,120
ft.), should accompany us to the top, while Mr. Wat-
kins, who had only recently recovered from a severe
illness, should take charge of the Base Camp.
CROSSING THE DESERT 9
The prefect of Arequipa obligingly offered us a
military escort in the person of Corporal Gamarra,
a full-blooded Indian of rather more than average
height and considerably more than average courage,
who knew the country. As a member of the mounted
gendarmerie, Gamarra had been stationed at the
provincial capital of Cotahuasi a few months previ-
ously. One day a mob of drunken, riotous revolu-
tionists stormed the government buildings while he
was on sentry duty. Gamarra stood his ground and,
when they attempted to force their way past him,
shot the leader of the crowd. The mob scattered.
A grateful prefect made him a corporal and, realiz-
ing that his life was no longer safe in that particular
vicinity, transferred him to Arequipa. Like nearly
all of his race, however, he fell an easy prey to alco-
hol. There is no doubt that the chief of the mounted
police in Arequipa, when ordered by the prefect to
furnish us an escort for our journey across the
desert, was glad enough to assign Gamarra to us.
His courage could not be called in question even
though his habits might lead him to become trouble-
some. It happened that Gamarra did not know we
were planning to go to Cotahuasi. Had he known
this, and also had he suspected the trials that were
before him on Mt. Coropuna, he probably would
have begged off — but I am anticipating.
On the 2d of October, Tucker, Hinckley, Corporal
Gamarra and I left Arequipa; Watldns followed a
week later. The first stage of the journey was by
train from Arequipa to Vitor, a distance of thirty
miles. The arrieros sent the cargo along too. In addi-
10 INCA LAND
tion to the food-boxes we brought with us tents,
ice axes, snowshoes, barometers, thermometers,
transit, fiber cases, steel boxes, duffle bags, and a
folding boat. Our pack train was supposed to have
started from Arequipa the day before. We hoped it
would reach Vitor about the same time that we did,
but that was expecting too much of arrieros on the
first day of their journey. So we had an all-day wait
near the primitive little railway station.
We amused ourselves wandering off over the
neighboring pampa and studying the medanos,
crescent-shaped sand dunes which are common in
the great coastal desert. One reads so much of the
great tropical jungles of South America and of well-
nigh impenetrable forests that it is difficult to re-
alize that the West Coast from Ecuador, on the
north, to the heart of Chile, on the south, is a great
desert, broken at intervals by oases, or valleys whose
rivers, coming from melting snows of the Andes, are
here and there diverted for purposes of irrigation.
Lima, the capital of Peru, is in one of the largest
of these oases. Although frequently enveloped in a
damp fog, the Peruvian coastal towns are almost
never subjected to rain. The causes of this phe-
nomenon are easy to understand. Winds coming
from the east, laden with the moisture of the Atlan-
tic Ocean and the steaming Amazon Basin, are
rapidly cooled by the eastern slopes of the Andes
and forced to deposit this moisture in the montana.
By the time the winds have crossed the mighty
Cordillera there is no rain left in them. Conversely,
the winds that come from the warm Pacific Ocean
CROSSING THE DESERT ii
strike a cold area over the frigid Humboldt Current,
which sweeps up along the west coast of South
America. This cold belt wrings the water out of the
westerly winds, so that by the time they reach the
warm land their relative humidity is low. To be
sure, there are months in some years when so much
moisture falls on the slopes of the coast range that
the hillsides are clothed with flowers, but this ver-
dure lasts but a short time and does not seriously
affect the great stretches of desert pampa in the
midst of which we now were. Like the other
pampas of this region, the flat surface inclines
toward the sea. Over it the sand is rolled along
by the wind and finally built into crescent-shaped
dunes. These medanos interested us greatly.
The prevailing wind on the desert at night is a
relatively gentle breeze that comes down from the
cool mountain slopes toward the ocean. It tends
to blow the lighter particles of sand along in a regu-
lar dune, rolling it over and over downhill, leaving
the heavier particles behind. This is reversed in the
daytime. As the heat increases toward noon, the
wind comes rushing up from the ocean to fill the
vacuum caused by the rapidly ascending currents
of hot air that rise from the overheated pampas.
During the early afternoon this wind reaches a high
velocity and swirls the sand along in clouds. It is
now strong enough to move the heavier particles of
sand, uphill. It sweeps the heaviest ones around the
base of the dune and deposits them in pointed
ridges on either side. The heavier material remains
stationary at night while the lighter particles are
12 INCA LAND
rolled downhill, but the whole mass travels slowly
uphill again during the gales of the following after-
noon. The result is the beautiful crescent-shaped
medano.
About five o'clock our mules, a fine-looking lot —
far superior to any that we had been able to secure
near Cuzco — trotted briskly into the dusty little
plaza. It took some time to adjust the loads, and
it was nearly seven o'clock before we started off in
the moonlight for the oasis of Vitor. As we left the
plateau and struck the dusty trail winding down
into a dark canyon we caught a glimpse of something
white shimmering faintly on the horizon far off
to the northwest; Coropuna! Shortly before nine
o'clock we reached a little corral, where the mules
were unloaded. For ourselves we found a shed with
a clean, stone-paved floor, where we set up our cots,
only to be awakened many times during the night
by passing caravans anxious to avoid the terrible
heat of the desert by day.
Where the oases are only a few miles apart one
often travels by day, but when crossing the desert
is a matter of eight or ten hours' steady jogging with
no places to rest, no water, no shade, the pack ani-
mals suffer greatly. Consequently, most caravans
travel, so far as possible, by night. Our first desert,
the pampa of Sihuas, was reported to be narrow, so
we preferred to cross it by day and see what was to
be seen. We got up about half-past four and were
off before seven. Then our troubles began. Either
because he lived in Arequipa or because they
CROSSING THE DESERT 13
thought he looked like a good horseman, or for
reasons best known to themselves, the Tejadas had
given Mr. Hinckley a very spirited saddle-mule.
The first thing I knew, her rider, carrying a heavy
camera, a package of plate-holders, and a large
mercurial barometer, borrowed from the Harvard
Observatory, was pitched headlong into the sand.
Fortunately no damage was done, and after a lively
chase the runaway mule was brought back by Cor-
poral Gamarra. After Mr. Hinckley was remounted
on his dangerous mule we rode on for a while in
peace, between cornfields and vineyards, over paths
flanked by willows and fig trees. The chief industry
of Vitor is the making of wine from vines which date
back to colonial days. The wine is aged in huge jars,
each over six feet high, buried in the ground. We
had a glimpse of seventeen of them standing in
a line, awaiting sale. It made one think of AH
Baba and the Forty Thieves, who would have had
no trouble at all hiding in these Cyclopean crocks.
The edge of the oasis of Vitor is the contour line
along which the irrigating canal runs. There is no
gradual petering out of foliage. The desert begins
with a stunning crash. On one side is the bright,
luxurious green of fig trees and vineyards; on the
other side is the absolute stark nakedness of the
sandy desert. Within the oasis there is an abund-
ance of water. Much of it runs to waste. The wine
growers receive more than they can use; in fact,
more land could easily be put under cultivation.
The chief difficulties are the scarcity of ports from
which produce can be shipped to the outer world,
14 INCA LAND
the expense of the transportation system of pack
trains over the deserts which intervene between the
oases and the railroad, and the lack of capital.
Otherwise the irrigation system might be extended
over great stretches of rich, volcanic soil, now un-
occupied.
A steady climb of three quarters of an hour took
us to the northern rim of the valley. Here we again
saw the snowy mass of Coropuna, glistening in the
sunlight, seventy-five miles away to the northwest.
Our view was a short one, for in less than three min-
utes we had to descend another canyon. We crossed
this and climbed out on the pampa of Sihuas. There
was little to interest us in our immediate surround-
ings, but in the distance was Coropuna, and I had
just begun to study the problem of possible routes
for climbing the highest peak when Mr. Hinckley's
mule trotted briskly across the trail directly in front
of me, kicked up her heels, and again sent him
sprawling over the sand, barometer, camera, plates,
and all. Unluckily, this time his foot caught in a
stirrup and, still holding the bridle, he was dragged
some distance before he got it loose. He struggled to
his feet and tried to keep the mule from running
away, when a violent kick released his hold and
knocked him out. We immediately set up our little
"Mummery" tent on the hot, sandy floor of the
desert and rendered first-aid to the unlucky astrono-
mer. We found that the sharp point of one of the
vicious mule's new shoes had opened a large vein in
Mr. Hinckley's leg. The cut was not dangerous, but
too deep for successful mountain climbing. With
CROSSING THE DESERT 15
Gamarra's aid, Mr. Hinckley was able to reach Are-
quipa that night, but his enforced departure not
only shattered his own hopes of climbing Coropuna,
but also made us wonder how we were going to
have the necessary three-men-on-the-rope when we
reached the glaciers. To be sure, there was the
corporal — but would he go? Indians do not like
snow mountains. Packing up the tent again, we
resumed our course over the desert.
The oasis of Sihuas, another beautiful garden in
the bottom of a huge canyon, was reached about
four o'clock in the afternoon. We should have been
compelled to camp in the open with the arrieros
had not the parish priest invited us to rest in the
cool shade of his vine-covered arbor. He graciously
served us with cakes and sweet native wine, and
asked us to stay as long as we liked. The desert of
Majes, which now lay ahead of us, is perhaps the
widest, hottest, and most barren in this region. Our
arrieros were unwilling to cross it in the daytime.
They said it was forty-five miles between water and
water. The next day we enjoyed the hospitality of
our kindly host until after supper.
So sure are the inhabitants of these oases that it
is not going to rain that their houses are built merely
as a shelter against the sun and wind. They are
made of the canes that grow in the jungles of the
larger river bottoms, or along the banks of irrigating
ditches. On the roof the spaces between the canes
are filled with adobe, sun-dried mud. It is not nec-
essary to plaster the sides of the houses, for it is
pleasant to let the air have free play, and it is amus-
i6 INCA LAND
ing to look out through the cracks and see every-
thing that is passing.
That evening we saddled in the moonlight. Slowly
we climbed out of the valley, to spend the night
jogging steadily, hour after hour, across the desert.
As the moon was setting we entered a hilly region,
and at sunrise found ourselves in the midst of a
tumbled mass of enormous sand dunes — the result
of hundreds of medanos blown across the pampa of
Majes and deposited along the border of the valley.
It took us three hours to wind slowly down from
the level of the desert to a point where we could see
the great canyon, a mile deep and two miles across.
Its steep sides are of various colored rocks and sand.
The bottom is a bright green oasis through which
flows the rapid Majes River, too deep to be forded
even in the dry season. A very large part of the flood
plain of the unruly river is not cultivated, and con-
sists of a wild jungle, difficult of access in the dry
season and impossible when the river rises during
the rainy months. The contrast between the gi-
gantic hills of sand and the luxurious vegetation was
very striking; but to us the most beautiful thing in
the landscape was the long, glistening, white mass of
Coropuna, now much larger and just visible above
the opposite rim of the valley.
At eight o'clock in the morning, as we were won-
dering how long it would be before we could get
down to the bottom of the valley and have some
breakfast, we discovered, at a place called Pitas (or
Cerro Colorado), a huge volcanic boulder covered
with rude pictographs. Further search in the vicin-
CROSSING THE DESERT 17
ity revealed about one hundred of these boulders,
each with its quota of crude drawings. I did not
notice any ruins of houses near the rocks. Neither
of the Tejada brothers, who had been past here
many times, nor any of the natives of this region
appeared to have any idea of the origin or meaning
of this singular collection of pictographic rocks.
The drawings represented jaguars, birds, men, and
dachshund-like dogs. They deserved careful study.
Yet not even the interest and excitement of investi-
gating the "rocas jeroglificos,'' as they are called
here, could make us forget that we had had no food
or sleep for a good many hours. So after taking a
few pictures we hastened on and crossed the Majes
River on a very shaky temporary bridge. It was
built to last only during the dry season. To con-
struct a bridge which would withstand floods is not
feasible at present. We spent the day at Coriri, a
pleasant little village where it was almost impossible
to sleep, on account of the myriads of gnats.
The next day we had a short ride along the wes-
tern side of the valley to the town of Aplao, the
capital of the province of Castilla, called by its
present inhabitants "Majes," although on Rai-
mondi's map that name is applied only to the river
and the neighboring desert. In 1865, at the time of
his visit, it had a bad reputation for disease. Now
it seems more healthy. The sub-prefect of Castilla
had been informed by telegraph of our coming, and
invited us to an excellent dinner.
The people of Majes are largely of mixed white
and Indian ancestry. Many of them appeared to
i8 INCA LAND
be unusually businesslike. The proprietor of one
establishment was a great admirer of American
shoes, the name of which he pronounced in a man-
ner that puzzled us for a long time. "W" is un-
known in Spanish and the letters "a," "1," and "k"
are never found in juxtaposition. When he asked us
what we thought of "Valluck-ofair','' accenting
strongly the last syllable, we could not imagine
what he meant. He was equally at a loss to under-
stand how we could be so stupid as not to recognize
immediately the well-advertised name of a widely
known shoe.
At Majes we observed cotton, which is sent to
the mills at Arequipa, alfalfa, highly prized as
fodder for pack animals, sugar cane, from which
aguardiente, or white rum, is made, and grapes. It is
said that the Majes vineyards date back to the six-
teenth century, and that some of the huge, buried,
earthenware wine jars now in use were made as far
back as the reign of Philip II. The presence of so
much wine in the community does not seem to have
a deleterious effect on the natives, who were not
only hospitable but energetic — far more so, in
fact, than the natives of towns in the high Andes,
where the intense cold and the difficulty of making a
living have reacted upon the Indians, often causing
them to be morose, sullen, and without ambition.
The residences of the wine growers are sometimes
very misleading. A typical country house of the
better class is not much to look at. Its long, low,
flat roof and rough, un whitewashed, mud-colored
walls give it an unattractive appearance; yet to
CROSSING THE DESERT 19
one's intense surprise the inside may be clean and
comfortable, with modern furniture, a piano, and
a phonograph.
Our conscientious and hard-working arrieros rose
at two o'clock the next morning, for they knew their
mules had a long, hard climb ahead of them, from an
elevation of 1000 feet above sea level to 10,000 feet.
After an all-day journey we camped at a place where
forage could be obtained. We had now left the re-
gion of tropical products and come back to pota-
toes and barley. The following day a short ride
brought us past another pictographic rock, recently
blasted open by an energetic "treasure seeker" of
Chuquibamba. This town has 3000 inhabitants
and is the capital of the province of Condesuyos.
It was the place which we had selected several
months before as the rendezvous for the attack on
Coropuna. The climate here is delightful and the
fruits and cereals of the temperate zone are easily
raised. The town is surrounded by gardens, vine-
yards, alfalfa and grain fields; all showing evidence
of intensive cultivation. It is at the head of one of
the branches of the Majes Valley and is surrounded
by high cliffs.
The people of Chuquibamba were friendly. We
were kindly welcomed by Seiior Benavides, the sub-
prefect, who hospitably told us to set up our cots in
the grand salon of his own house. Here we received
calls from the local officials, including the provincial
physician, Dr. Pastor, and the director of the Cole-
gio Nacional, Professor Alejandro Coello. The last
two were keen to go with us up Mt. Coropuna.
20 INCA LAND
They told us that there was a hill near by called the
Calvario, whence the mountain could be seen, and
offered to take us up there. We accepted, thinking
at the same time that this would show who was best
fitted to join in the climb, for we needed another
man on the rope. Professor Coello easily distanced
the rest of us and won the coveted place.
From the Calvario hill we had a splendid view of
those white solitudes whither we were bound, now
only twenty-five miles away. It seemed clear that
the western or truncated peak, which gives its name
to the mass (koro = "cut off at the top"; puna =
**a cold, snowy height"), was the highest point of
the range, and higher than all the eastern peaks.
Yet behind the flat- topped dome we could just make
out a northerly peak. Tucker wondered whether or
not that might prove to be higher than the western
peak which we decided to climb. No one knew any-
thing about the mountain. There were no native
guides to be had. The wildest opinions were ex-
pressed as to the best routes and methods of getting
to the top. We finally engaged a man who said he
knew how to get to the foot of the mountain, so we
called him "guide" for want of a more appropriate
title. The Peruvian spring was now well advanced
and the days were fine and clear. It appeared, how-
ever, that there had been a heavy snowstorm on the
mountain a few days before. If summer were com-
ing unusually early it behooved us to waste no time,
and we proceeded to arrange the mountain equip-
ment as fast as possible.
Our instruments for determining altitude con-
CROSSING THE DESERT 21
sisted of a special mountain-mercurial barometer
made by Mr. Henry J. Green, of Brooklyn, capable
of recording only such air pressures as one might
expect to find above 12,000 feet; a hypsometer
loaned us by the Department of Terrestrial Mag-
netism of the Carnegie Institution of Washington,
with thermometers especially made for us by Green ;
a large mercurial barometer, borrowed from the
Harvard Observatory, which, notwithstanding its
rough treatment by Mr. Hinckley's mule, was still
doing good service; and one of Green's sling psy-
chrometers. Our most serious want was an aneroid,
in case the fragile mercurials should get broken.
Six months previously I had written to J. Hicks,
the celebrated instrument maker of London, asking
him to construct, with special care, two large
"Watkins" aneroids capable of recording altitudes
five thousand feet higher than Coropuna was sup-
posed to be. His reply had never reached me, nor
did any one in Arequipa know anything about the
barometers. Apparently my letter had miscarried.
It was not until we opened our specially ordered
"mountain grub" boxes here in Chuquibamba that
we found, alongside of the pemmican and self-heat-
ing tins of stew which had been packed for us in
London by Grace Brothers, the two precious aner-
oids, each as large as a big alarm clock. With these
two new aneroids, made with a wide margin of
safety, we felt satisfied that, once at the summit,
we should know whether there was a chance that
Bandelier was right and this was indeed the top of
America.
22 INCA LAND
For exact measurements we depended on Topog-
rapher Hendriksen, who was due to triangulate
Coropuna in the course of his survey along the 73d
meridian. My chief excuse for going up the moun-
tain was to erect a signal at or near the top which
Hendriksen could use as a station in order to make
his triangulation more exact. My real object, it
must be confessed, was to enjoy the satisfaction,
which all Alpinists feel, of conquering a "virgin
peak."
CHAPTER II
CLIMBING COROPUNA
THE desert plateau above Chuquibamba is nearly
2500 feet higher than the town, and it was nine
o'clock on the morning of October loth before we
got out of the valley. Thereafter Coropuna was
always in sight, and as we slowly approached it we
studied it with care. The plateau has an elevation
of over 15,000 feet, yet the mountain stood out
conspicuously above it. Coropuna is really a range
about twenty miles long. Its gigantic massif was
covered with snow fields from one end to the other.
So deep did the fresh snow lie that it was generally
impossible to see where snow fields ended and gla-
ciers began. We could see that of the five well-
defined peaks the middle one was probably the low-
est. The two next highest are at the right, or east-
em, end of the massif. The culminating truncated
dome at the western end, with its smooth, uneroded
sides, apparently belonged to a later volcanic period
than the rest of the mountain. It seemed to be the
highest peak of all. To reach it did not appear to be
difficult. Rock-covered slopes ran directly up to the
snow. Snow fields, without many rock-falls, ap-
peared to culminate in a saddle at the base of the
great snowy dome. The eastern slope of the dome
itself offered an unbroken, if steep, path to the top.
If we could once reach the snow line, it looked as
24 INCA LAND
though, with the aid of ice-creepers or snowshoes,
we could climb the mountain without serious trouble.
Between us and the first snow-covered slopes,
however, lay more than twenty miles of volcanic
desert intersected by deep canyons, steep quebradas,
and very rough aa lava. Directed by our "guide,"
we left the Cotahuasi road and struck across
country, dodging the lava flows and slowly ascend-
ing the gentle slope of the plateau. As it became
steeper our mules showed signs of suffering. While
waiting for them to get their wind we went ahead on
foot, climbed a short rise, and to our surprise and
chagrin found ourselves on the rim of a steep-walled
canyon, 1500 feet deep, which cut right across in
front of the mountain and lay between us and its
higher slopes. After the mules had rested, the guide
now decided to turn to the left instead of going
straight toward the mountain. A dispute ensued as
to how much he knew, even about the foot of Coro-
puna. He denied that there were any huts what-
ever in the canyon. ^'Abandonado; despoblado; de-
sierto." "A waste; a solitude; a wilderness." So he
described it. Had he been there? "No, Senor."
Luckily we had been able to make out from the rim
of the canyon two or three huts near a little stream.
As there was no question that we ought to get to the
snow line as soon as possible, we decided to dispense
with the services of so well-informed a "guide," and
make such way as we could alone. The altitude of
the rim of the canyon was 16,000 feet; the mules
showed signs of acute distress from mountain sick-
ness. The arrieros began to complain loudly, but
CLIMBING COROPUNA 25
did what they could to relieve the mules by punch-
ing holes in their ears ; the theory being that blood-
letting is a good thing for soroche. As soon as the
timid arrieros reached a point where they could see
down into the canyon, they spotted some patches
of green pasture, cheered up a bit, and even smiled
over the dismal ignorance of the "guide." Soon we
found a trail which led to the huts.
Near the huts was a taciturn Indian woman, who
refused to furnish us with either fuel or forage,
although we tried to pay in advance and offered her
silver. Nevertheless, we proceeded to pitch our
tents and took advantage of the sheltering stone
wall of her corral for our camp fire. After peace had
settled down and it became perfectly evident that
we were harmless, the door of one of the huts opened
and an Indian man appeared. Doubtless the cause
of his disappearance before our arrival had been the
easily discernible presence in our midst of the brass
buttons of Corporal Gamarra. Possibly he who had
selected this remote corner of the wilderness for his
abode had a guilty conscience and at the sight of a
gendarme decided that he had better hide at once.
More probably, however, he feared the visit of a
recruiting party, since it is quite likely that he had
not served his legal term of military service. At all
events, when his wife discovered that we were not
looking for her man, she allowed his curiosity to
overcome his fears. We found that the Indians kept
a few llamas. They also made crude pottery, firing
it with straw and llama dung. They lived almost
entirely on gruel made from chuno, frozen bitter
26 INCA LAND
potatoes. Little else than potatoes will grow at
14,000 feet above the sea. For neighbors the In-
dians had a solitary old man, who lived half a mile
up nearer the glaciers, and a small family, a mile
and a half down the valley.
Before dark the neighbors came to call, and we
tried our best to persuade the men to accompany us
up the mountain and help to carry the loads from
the point where the mules would have to stop ; but
they declined absolutely and positively. I think one
of the men might have gone, but as soon as his quiet,
well-behaved wife saw him wavering she broke out
in a torrent of violent denunciation, telling him the
mountain would "eat him up" and that unless he
wanted to go to heaven before his time he had better
let well enough alone and stay where he was. Cieza
de Leon, one of the most careful of the early chron-
iclers (1550), says that at Coropuna "the devil"
talks "more freely" than usual. "For some secret
reason known to God, it is said that devils walk
visibly about in that place, and that the Indians see
them and are much terrified. I have also heard that
these devils have appeared to Christians in the form
of Indians." Perhaps the voluble housewife was her-
self one of the famous Coropuna devils. She cer-
tainly talked "more freely" than usual. Or possibly
she thought that the Coropuna "devils" were now
appearing to Indians "in the form of" Christians!
Anyhow the Indians said that on top of Coropuna
there was a delightful, warm paradise containing
beautiful flowers, luscious fruits, parrots of brilliant
plumage, macaws, and even monkeys, those faithful
CLIMBING COROPUNA 27
denizens of hot climates. The souls of the departed
stop to rest and enjoy themselves in this charming
spot on their upward flight. Like most primitive
people who live near snow-capped mountains, they
had an abject terror of the forbidding summits and
the snowstorms that seem to come down from them.
Probably the Indians hope to propitiate the de-
mons who dwell on the mountain tops by invent-
ing charming stories relating to their abode. It is in-
teresting to learn that in the neighboring hamlet of
Pampacolca, the great explorer Raimondi, in 1865,
found the natives "exiled from the civilized world,
still preserving their primitive customs . . . carry-
ing idols to the slopes of the great snow mountain
Coropuna, and there offering them as a sacrifice."
Apparently the mountain still inspires fear in the
hearts of all those who live near it.
The fact that we agreed to pay in advance
unheard-of wages, ten times the usual amount
earned by laborers in this vicinity, that we added
offers of the precious coca leaves, the greatly-to-be-
desired "fire-water," the rarely seen tobacco, and
other good things usually coveted by Peruvian
highlanders, had no effect in the face of the terrors
of the mountain. They knew only too well that
snow-blindness was one of the least of ills to be
encountered; while the advantages of dark-colored
glasses, warm clothes, kerosene stoves, and plenty
of good food, which we freely offered, were far too
remote from the realm of credible possibilities.
Professor Coello understood all these matters per-
fectly and, being able to speak Quichua, the Ian-
28 INCA LAND
guage of our prospective carriers, did his best in the
way of argument, not only out of loyalty to the
Expedition, but because Peruvian gentlemen always
regard the carrying of a load as extremely undig-
nified and improper. I have known one of the
most energetic and efficient business men in Peru,
a highly respected gentleman in a mountain city,
so to dislike being obliged to carry a rolled and un-
mounted photograph, little larger than a lead pencil,
that he sent for a cargador, an Indian porter, to
bear it for him !
As a matter of fact. Professor Coello was per-
fectly willing to do his share and more ; but neither
he nor we were anxious to climb with heavy packs on
our backs, in the rarefied air of elevations several
thousand feet higher than Mont Blanc. The argu-
ment with the Indians was long and verbose and the
offerings of money and goods were made more and
more generous. All was in vain. We finally came to
realize that whatever supplies and provisions were
carried up Coropuna would have to be borne on our
own shoulders. That evening the top of the trun-
cated dome, which was just visible from the valley
near our camp, was bathed in a roseate Alpine glow,
unspeakably beautiful. The air, however, was very
bitter and the neighboring brook froze solid. Dur-
ing the night the gendarme's mule became homesick
and disappeared with Coello's horse. Gamarra was
sent to look for the strays, with orders to follow us
as soon as possible.
As no bearers or carriers were to be secured, it was
essential to persuade the Tejadas to take their pack
CLIMBING COROPUNA 29
mules up as far as the snow, a feat they declined to
do. The mules, Don Pablo said, had already gone as
far as and farther than mules had any business to go.
Soon after reaching camp Tucker had gone off on a
reconnaissance. He reported that there was a path
leading out of the canyon up to the llama pastures
on the lower slopes of the mountains. The arrieros
denied the accuracy of his observations. However,
after a long argument, they agreed to go as far as
there was a good path, and no farther. There was
no question of our riding. It was simply a case of
getting the loads as high up as possible before we
had to begin to carry them ourselves. It may be
imagined that the arrieros packed very slowly and
grudgingly, although the loads were now consider-
ably reduced. Finally, leaving behind our saddles,
ordinary supplies, and everything not considered
absolutely necessary for a two weeks' stay on the
mountain, we set off.
We could easily walk faster than the loaded
mules, and thought it best to avoid trouble by
keeping far enough ahead so as not to hear the
arrieros' constant complaints. After an hour of not
very hard climbing over a fairly good llama trail, the
Tejadas stopped at the edge of the pastures and
shouted to us to come back. We replied equally
vociferously, calling them to come ahead, which
they did for half an hour more, slowly zigzagging
up a slope of coarse, black volcanic sand. Then
they not only stopped but commenced to unload the
mules. It was necessary to rush back and com-
mence a violent and acrimonious dispute as to
30 INCA LAND
whether the letter of the contract had been fulfilled
and the mules had gone " as far as they could reason-
ably be expected to go." The truth was, the Teja-
das were terrified at approaching mysterious Coro-
puna. They were sure it would take revenge on
them by destroying their mules, who would "cer-
tainly die the following day of soroche'' We offered
a bonus of thirty soles — fifteen dollars — if they
would go on for another hour, and threatened them
with all sorts of things if they would not. At last
they readjusted the loads and started climbing
again.
The altitude was now about 16,000 feet, but at
the foot of a steep little rise the arrieros stopped
again. This time they succeeded in unloading two
mules before we could scramble down over the sand
and boulders to stop them. Threats and prayers
were now of no avail. The only thing that would
satisfy was a legal document! They demanded an
agreement "in writing" that in case any mule or
mules died as a result of this foolish attempt to
get up to the snow line, I should pay in gold two
hundred soles for each and every mule that died.
Further, I must agree to pay a bonus of fifty soles
if they would keep climbing until noon or until
stopped by snow. This document, having been duly
drawn up by Professor Coello, seated on a lava rock
amidst the clinkerlike cinders of the old volcano, was
duly signed and sealed. In order that there might
be no dispute as to the time, my best chronometer
was handed over to Pablo Tejada to carry until
noon. The mules were reloaded and again the ascent
CLIMBING COROPUNA 31
began. Presently the mules encountered some
pretty bad going, on a steep slope covered with
huge lava boulders and scoriaceous sand. We ex-
pected more trouble every minute. However, the
arrieros, having made an advantageous bargain, did
their best to carry it out. Fortunately the mules
reached the snow line just fifteen minutes before
twelve o'clock. The Tejadas lost no time in unload-
ing, claimed their bonus, promised to return in ten
days, and almost before we knew it had disappeared
down the side of the mountain.
We spent the afternoon establishing our Base
Camp. We had three tents, the "Mummery," a
very light and diminutive wall tent about four feet
high, made by Edgington of London; an ordinary
wall tent, 7 by 7, of fairly heavy material, with floor
sewed in ; and an improved pyramidal tent, made by
David Abercrombie, but designed by Mr. Tucker
after one used on Mt. McKinley by Professor
Parker. Tucker's tent had two openings — a small
vent in the top of the pyramid, capable of being
closed by an adjustable cap in case of storm, and an
oval entrance through which one had to crawl.
This opening could be closed to any desired extent
with a pucker string. A fairly heavy, waterproof
floor, measuring 7 by 7, was sewed to the base of the
pyramid so that a single pole, without guy ropes,
was all that was necessary to keep the tent upright
after the floor had been securely pegged to the
ground, or snow. Tucker's tent offered the advan-
tages of being carried without difficulty, easily
erected by one man, readily ventilated and yet
32 INCA LAND
giving shelter to four men in any weather. We pro-
posed to leave the wall tent at the Base, but to take
the pyramidal tent with us on the climb. We de-
termined to carry the "Mummery" to the top of
the mountain to use while taking observations.
The elevation of the Base Camp was 17,300 feet.
We were surprised and pleased to find that at first
we had good appetites and no soroche. Less than a
hundred yards from the wall tent was a small
diurnal stream, fed by melting snow. Whenever I
went to get water for cooking or washing purposes
I noticed a startling and rapid rise in pulse and
Increasing shortness of breath. My normal pulse is
70. After I walked slowly a hundred feet on a level
at this altitude it rose to 120. After I had been
seated awhile it dropped down to 100. Gradually
our sense of well-being departed and was followed by
a feeling of malaise and general disability. There
was a splendid sunset, but we were too sick and cold
to enjoy It. That night all slept badly and had some
headache. A high wind swept around the mountain
and threatened to carry away both of our tents. As
we lay awake, wondering at what moment we
should find ourselves deserted by the frail canvas
shelters, we could not help thinking that Coropuna
was giving us a fair warning of what might happen
higher up.
For breakfast we had pemmlcan, hard-tack, pea
soup and tea. We all wanted plenty of sugar in our
tea and drank large quantities of it. Experience on
Mt. McKInley had led Tucker to believe heartily
in the advantages of pemmlcan, a food especially
Oh O
CLIMBING COROPUNA 33
prepared for Arctic explorers. Neither Coello nor
Gamarra nor I had ever tasted it before. We de-
cided that it is not very palatable on first acquaint-
ance. Although doubtless of great value when one
has to spend long periods of time in the Arctic,
where even seal's blubber is a delicacy "as good as
cow's creanij" I presume we could have done just
as well without it.
It was decided to carry with us from the Base
enough fuel and supplies to last through any pos-
sible misadventure, even of a week's duration.
Accounts of climbs in the high Andes are full of
failures due to the necessity of the explorers' being
obliged to return to food, warmth, and shelter
before having effected the conquest of a new peak.
One remembers the frequent disappointments that
came to such intrepid climbers as Whymper in
Ecuador, Martin Conway in Bolivia and Fitzgerald
in Chile and Argentina, due to high winds, the
sudden advent of terrific snowstorms and the weak-
ness caused by soroche. At the cost of carrying
extra-heavy loads we determined to try to avoid
being obliged to turn back. We could only hope
that no unforeseen event would finally defeat our
efforts.
Tucker decided to establish a cache of food and
fuel as far up the mountain side as he and Coello
could carry fifty pounds in a single day's climb.
Leaving me to reset the demoralized tents and do
other chores, they started off, packing loads of
about twenty-five pounds each. To me their prog-
ress up the mountain side seemed extraordinarily
34 INCA LAND
slow. Were they never going to get anywhere?
Their frequent stops seemed ludicrous. I was to
learn later that it is as difficult at a high elevation
for one who is not climbing to have any sympathy
for those suffering from soroche as it is for a sailor
to appreciate the sensations of one who is seasick.
During the morning I set up the barometers and
took a series of observations. It was pleasant to
note that the two new mountain aneroids registered
exactly alike. All the different units of the cargo
that was to be taken up the mountain then had to be
weighed, so that they might be equitably distributed
in our loads the following day. We had two small
kerosene stoves with Primus burners. Our grub,
ordered months before, specially for this climb, con-
sisted of pemmican in 8^ -pound tins. Kola choco-
late in half-pound tins, seeded raisins in i -pound
tins, cube sugar in 4-pound tins, hard-tack in 6^-
pound tins, jam, sticks of dried pea soup, Plasmon
biscuit, tea, and a few of Silver's self-heating "mess-
tins" containing Irish stew, beef k la mode, et al.
Corporal Gamarra appeared during the day, having
found his mule, which had strayed twelve miles
down the canyon. He did not relish the prospect of
climbing Coropuna, but when he saw the warm
clothes which we had provided for him and learned
that he would get a bonus of five gold sovereigns on
top of the mountain, he decided to accept his duties
philosophically.
Tucker and Coello returned in the middle of the
afternoon, reported that there seemed to be no seri-
ous difficulties in the first part of the climb and that
CLIMBING COROPUNA 35
a cache had been established about 2000 feet above
the Base Camp, on a snow field. Tucker now as-
signed our packs for the morrow and skillfully pre-
pared the tump-lines and harness with which we
were to carry them.
Notwithstanding an unusual headache which
lasted all day long, I still had some appetite. Our
supper consisted of pemmican pudding with raisins,
hard-tack and pea soup, which every one was able to
eat, if not to enjoy. That night we slept better, one
reason being that the wind did not blow as hard as it
had the night before. The weather continued fine.
Watkins was due to arrive from Arequipa in a day
or two, but we decided not to wait for him or run any
further risk of encountering an early summer snow-
storm. The next morning, after adjusting our fifty-
pound loads to our unaccustomed backs, we left
camp about nine o'clock. We wore Appalachian
Mountain Club snow-creepers, or crampons, heavy
Scotch mittens, knit woolen helmets, dark blue
snow-glasses, and very heavy clothing. It will be
remembered by visitors to the Zermatt Museum
that the Swiss guides who once climbed Huascaran,
in the northern Peruvian Andes, had been maimed
for life by their experiences in the deep snows of
those great altitudes. We determined to take no
chances, and in order to prevent the possibility of
frost-bite each man was ordered to put on four pairs
of heavy woolen socks and two or three pairs of
heavy underdrawers.
Professor Coello and Corporal Gamarra wore
large, heavy boots. I had woolen puttees and
36 INCA LAND
"Arctic" overshoes. Tucker improvised what he
regarded as highly satisfactory sandals out of felt
slippers and pieces of a rubber poncho. Since there
seemed to be no rock-climbing ahead of us, we
decided to depend on crampons rather than on the
heavy hob-nailed climbing boots with which Alpin-
ists are familiar.
The snow was very hard until about one o'clock.
By three o'clock it was so soft as to make further
progress impossible. We found that, loaded as we
were, we could not climb a gentle rise faster than
twenty steps at a time. On the more level snow
fields we took twenty-five or thirty steps before
stopping to rest. At the end of each stint it seemed
as though they would be the last steps we should
ever take. Panting violently, fatigued beyond
belief, and overcome with mountain-sickness, we
would stop and lean on our ice axes until able to
take twenty-five steps more.
It did not take very long to recover one's wind.
Finally we reached a glacier marked by a network of
crevasses, none very wide, and nearly all covered
with snow-bridges. We were roped together, and
although there was an occasional fall no great strain
was put on the rope. Then came great snow fields
with not a single crevasse. For the most part our
day was simply an unending succession of stints —
twenty-five steps and a rest, repeated four or five
times and followed by thirty-five steps and a longer
rest, taken lying down in the snow. We pegged
along until about half-past two, when the rapidly
melting snow stopped all progress. At an altitude
CLIMBING COROPUNA 37
of about 18,450 feet, the Tucker tent was pitched on
a fairly level snow field. We now noticed with dis-
may that the two big aneroids had begun to differ.
As the sun declined the temperature fell rapidly.
At half-past five the thermometer stood at 22° F.
During the night the minimum thermometer reg-
istered 9° F. We noticed a considerable number
of lightning flashes in the northeast. They were
not accompanied by any thunder, but alarmed us
considerably. We feared the expected November
storms might be ahead of time. We closed the tent
door on account of a biting wind. Owing to the
ventilating device at the top of the tent, we man-
aged to breathe fairly well. Mountain climbers at
high altitudes have occasionally observed that one
of the symptoms of acute soroche is a very annoying,
racking cough, as violent as whooping cough and
frequently accompanied by nausea. We had not
experienced this at 17,000 feet, but now it began to
be painfully noticeable, and continued during the
ensuing days and nights, particularly nights, until
we got back to the Indians' huts again. We slept
very poorly and continually awakened one another
by coughing.
The next morning we had very little appetite, no
ambition, and a miserable sense of malaise and great
fatigue. There was nothing for it but to shoulder
our packs, arrange our tump-lines, and proceed with
the same steady drudgery — now a little harder
than the day before. We broke camp at half-past
seven and by noon had reached an altitude of about
20,000 feet, on a snow field within a mile of the
38 INCA LAND
saddle between the great truncated peak and the
rest of the range. It looked possible to reach the
summit in one more day's climb from here. The
aneroids now differed by over five hundred feet.
Leaving me to pitch the tent, the others went back
to the cache to bring up some of the supplies. Due
to the fact that we were carrying loads twice as
heavy as those which Tucker and Coello had first
brought up, we had not passed their cache until
to-day. By the time my companions appeared
again I was so completely rested that I marveled at
the snail-like pace they made over the nearly level
snow field. It seemed incredible that they should
find it necessary to rest four times after they were
within one hundred yards of the camp.
We were none of us hungry that evening. We
craved sweet tea. Before turning in for the night
we took the trouble to melt snow and make a potful
of tea which could be warmed up the first thing in
the morning. We passed another very bad night.
The thermometer registered 7° F., but we did not
suffer from the cold. In fact, when you stow away
four men on the floor of a 7 by 7 tent they are obliged
to sleep so close together as to keep warm. Further-
more, each man had an eiderdown sleeping-bag,
blankets, and plenty of heavy clothes and sweaters.
We did, however, suffer from soroche. Violent
whooping cough assailed us at frequent intervals.
None of us slept much. I amused myself by count-
ing my pulse occasionally, only to find that it
persistently refused to go below 120, and if I moved
would jump up to 135. I don't know where it went
CLIMBING COROPUNA 39
on the actual climb. So far as I could determine, it
did not go below 120 for four days and nights.
On the morning of October 15th we got up at
three o'clock. Hot sweet tea was the one thing we all
craved. The tea-pot was found to be frozen solid,
although it had been hung up in the tent. It took an
hour to thaw and the tea was just warm enough for
practical purposes when I made an awkward move
in the crowded tent and kicked over the tea-pot!
Never did men keep their tempers better under
more aggravating circumstances. Not a word of re-
proach or indignation greeted my clumsy accident,
although poor Corporal Gamarra, who was lying
on the down side of the tent, had to beat a hasty
retreat into the colder (but somewhat drier) weather
outside. My clumsiness necessitated a delay of
nearly an hour in starting. While we were melting
more frozen snow and re-making the tea, we warmed
up some pea soup and Irish stew. Tucker and I
managed to eat a little. Coello and Gamarra had no
stomachs for anything but tea. We decided to leave
the Tucker tent at the 20,000 foot level, together
with most of our outfit and provisions. From here
to the top we were to carry only such things as were
absolutely necessary. They included the Mummery
tent with pegs and poles, the mountain-mercurial
barometer, the two Watkins aneroids, the hypsom-
eter, a pair of Zeiss glasses, two 3A kodaks, six
films, a sling psychrometer, a prismatic compass and
clinometer, a Stanley pocket level, an eighty-foot
red-strand mountain rope, three ice axes, a seven-
foot flagpole, an American flag and a Yale flag. In
40 INCA LAND
order to avoid disaster in case of storm, we also
carried four of Silver's self -heating cans of Irish
stew and mock-turtle soup, a cake of chocolate, and
eight hard-tack, besides raisins and cubes of sugar
in our pockets. Our loads weighed about twenty
pounds each.
To our great satisfaction and relief, the weather
continued fine and there was very little wind. On
the preceding afternoon the snow had been so soft
one frequently went in over one's knees, but now
everything was frozen hard. We left camp at five
o'clock. It was still dark. The great dome of Coro-
puna loomed up on our left, cut off from direct
attack by gigantic ice falls. To reach it we must
first surmount the saddle on the main ridge. From
there an apparently unbroken slope extended to the
top. Our progress was distressingly slow, even with
the light loads. When we reached the saddle there
came a painful surprise. To the north of us loomed
a great snowy cone, the peak which we had at first
noticed from the Chuquibamba Calvario. Now it
actually looked higher than the dome we were about
to climb! From the Sihuas Desert, eighty miles
away, the dome had certainly seemed to be the
highest point. So we stuck to our task, although
constantly facing the possibility that our painful
labors might be in vain and that eventually, this
north peak would prove to be higher. We began to
doubt whether we should have strength enough for
both. Loss of sleep, soroche, and lack of appetite
were rapidly undermining our endurance.
The last slope had an inclination of thirty degrees.
CLIMBING COROPUNA 41
We should have had to cut steps with our ice axes
all the way up had it not been for our snow-creepers,
which worked splendidly. As it was, not more than a
dozen or fifteen steps actually had to be cut even in
the steepest part. Tucker was first on the rope, I
was second, Coello third, and Gamarra brought up
the rear. We were not a very gay party. The high
altitude was sapping all our ambition. I found that
an occasional lump of sugar acted as the best rapid
restorative to sagging spirits. It was astonishing
how quickly the carbon in the sugar was absorbed
by the system and came to the relief of smoldering
bodily fires. A single cube gave new strength and
vigor for several minutes. Of course, one could not
eat sugar without limit, but it did help to tide over
difficult places.
We zigzagged slowly up, hour after hour, alter-
nately resting and climbing, until we were about to
reach what seemed to be the top, obviously, alas,
not as high as our enemy to the north. Just then
Tucker gave a great shout. The rest of us were too
much out of breath to ask him why he was wasting
his strength shouting. When at last we painfully
came to the edge of what looked like the summit we
saw the cause of his joy. There, immediately ahead
of us, lay another slope three hundred feet higher
than where we were standing. It may seem strange
that in our weakened condition we should have been
glad to find that we had three hundred feet more to
climb. Remember, however, that all the morning
we had been gazing with dread at that aggravating
north peak. Whenever we had had a moment to
42 INCA LAND
give to the consideration of anything but the im-
mediate difficulties of our climb our hearts had sunk
within us at the thought that possibly, after all, we
might find the north peak higher. The fact that
there lay before us another three hundred feet,
which would undoubtedly take us above the highest
point of that aggravating north peak, was so very
much the less of two possible evils that we under-
stood Tucker's shout. Yet none of us was lusty
enough to echo it.
With faint smiles and renewed courage we pegged
along, resting on our ice axes, as usual, every twenty-
five steps until at last, at half-past eleven, after six
hours and a half of climbing from the 20,000-foot
camp, we reached the culminating point of Coro-
puna. As we approached it, Tucker, although
naturally much elated at having successfully engi-
neered the first ascent of this great mountain,
stopped and with extraordinary courtesy and self-
abnegation smilingly motioned me to go ahead in
order that the director of the Expedition might be
actually the first person to reach the culminating
point. In order to appreciate how great a sacrifice
he was willing to make, it should be stated that his
willingness to come on the Expedition was due
chiefly to a fondness for mountain climbing and his
desire to add Coropuna to his sheaf of victories.
Greatly as I appreciated his kindness in making way
for me, I could only acquiesce in so far as to con-
tinue the climb by his side. We reached the top
together, and sank down to rest and look about.
The truncated summit is an oval-shaped snow
THE CAMP ON THE SUMMIT OF COROPUNA
ELEVATION, 21,703 FEET
ONE OF THE FREQUENT RESTS IN THE ASCENT
OF COROPUNA
CLIMBING COROPUNA 43
field, almost flat, having an area of nearly half an
acre, about 100 feet north and south and 175 feet
east and west. If it once were, as we suppose, a
volcanic crater, the pit had long since been filled up
with snow and ice. There were no rocks to be seen
on the rim — only the hard crust of the glistening
white surface. The view from the top was desolate
in the extreme. We were in the midst of a great
volcanic desert dotted with isolated peaks covered
with snow and occasional glaciers. Not an atom of
green was to be seen anywhere. Apparently we
stood on top of a dead world. Mountain climbers
in the Andes have frequently spoken of seeing con-
dors at great altitudes. We saw none. Northwest,
twenty miles away across the Pampa Colorada, a
reddish desert, rose snow-capped Solimana. In the
other direction we looked along the range of Coro-
puna itself; several of the lesser peaks being only a
few hundred feet below our elevation. Far to the
southwest we imagined we could see the faint blue
of the Pacific Ocean, but it was very dim.
My father was an ardent mountain climber,
glorying not only in the difficulties of the ascent,
but particularly in the satisfaction coming from the
magnificent view to be obtained at the top. His zeal
had led him once, in winter, to ascend the highest
peak in the Pacific, Mauna Kea on Hawaii. He
taught me as a boy to be fond of climbing the moun-
tains of Oahu and Maui and to be appreciative of the
views which could be obtained by such expenditure
of eff"ort. Yet now I could not take the least interest
or pleasure in the view from the top of Coropuna,
44 INCA LAND
nor could my companions. No sense of satisfaction
in having attained a difficult objective cheered us
up. We all felt greatly depressed and said little,
although Gamarra asked for his bonus and regarded
the gold coins with grim complacency.
After we had rested awhile we began to take
observations. Unslinging the aneroid which I had
been carrying, I found to my surprise and dismay
that the needle showed a height of only 21,525 feet
above sea level. Tucker's aneroid read more than a
thousand feet higher, 22,550 feet, but even this fell
short of Raimondi's estimate of 22,775 feet, and
considerably below Bandelier's "23,000 feet." This
was a keen disappointment, for we had hoped that
the aneroids would at least show a margin over the
altitude of Mt. Aconcagua, 22,763 feet. This dis-
covery served to dampen our spirits still further.
We took what comfort we could from the fact that
the aneroids, which had checked each other per-
fectly up to 17,000 feet, were now so obviously un-
trustworthy. We could only hope that both might
prove to be inaccurate, as actually happened, and
that both might now be reading too low. Anyhow,
the north peak did look lower than we were. To
satisfy any doubts on this subject, Tucker took the
wooden box in which we had brought the hypsom-
eter, laid it on the snow, leveled it up carefully
with the Stanley pocket level, and took a squint
over it toward the north peak. He smiled and said
nothing. So each of us in turn lay down in the snow
and took a squint. It was all right. We were at
least 250 feet higher than that aggravating peak.
CLIMBING COROPUNA 45
We were also 450 feet higher than the east peak of
Coropuna, and a thousand feet higher than any
other mountain in sight. At any rate, we should not
have to call upon our fast-ebbing strength for any
more hard climbs in the immediate future. After
arriving at this satisfactory conclusion we pitched
the little Mummery tent, set up the tripod for the
mercurial barometer, arranged the boiling point
thermometer with its apparatus, and with the aid
of kodaks and notebooks proceeded to take as
many observations as possible in the next four
hours. At two o'clock we read the mercurial, know-
ing that at the same hour readings were being made
by Watkins at the Base Camp and by the Harvard
astronomers in the Observatory at Arequipa. The
barometer was suspended from a tripod set up in the
shade of the tent. The mercury, which at sea level
often stands at 31 inches, now stood at 13.838
inches. The temperature of the thermometer on the
barometer was exactly +32° F. At the same time,
inside the tent we got the water to boiling and took
a reading with the hypsometer. Water boils at sea
level at a temperature of 212° F. Here it boiled at
174° F. After taking the reading we greedily drank
the water which had been heated for the hypsom-
eter. We were thirsty enough to have drunk five
times as much. We were not hungry, and made no
use of our provisions except a few raisins, some
sugar, and chocolate.
After completing our observations, we fastened
the little tent as securely as possible, banking the
snow around it, and left it on top, first having placed
46 INCA LAND
in it one of the Appalachian Mountain Club's brass
record cylinders, in which we had sealed the Yale
flag, a contemporary map of Peru, and two brief
statements regarding the ascent. The American flag
was left flying from a nine-foot pole, which we
planted at the northwest rim of the dome, where
it could be seen from the road to Cotahuasi. Here
Mr. Casimir Watkins saw it a week later and Dr.
Isaiah Bowman two weeks later. When Chief To-
pographer Hendriksen arrived three weeks later to
make his survey, it had disappeared. Probably a
severe storm had blown it over and buried it in the
snow.
We left the summit at three o'clock and arrived
at the 20,000 foot camp two hours and fifteen min-
utes later. The first part of the way down to the
saddle we attempted a glissade. Then the slope grew
steeper and we got up too much speed for comfort,
so we finally had to be content with a slower method
of locomotion. That night there was very little wind.
Mountain climbers have more to fear from exces-
sively high winds than almost any other cause. We
were very lucky. Nothing occurred to interfere with
the best progress we were physically capable of
making. It turned out that we did not need to have
brought so many supplies with us. In fact, it is an
open question whether our acute mountain-sickness
would have permitted us to outlast a long storm,
or left us enough appetite to use the provisions. Al-
though one does get accustomed to high altitudes,
we felt very doubtful. No one in the Western Hemi-
sphere had ever made night camps at 20,000 feet
CLIMBING COROPUNA 47
or pitched a tent as high as the summit of Coropuna.
The severity of mountain-sickness differs greatly in
different localities, apparently not depending en-
tirely on the altitude. I do not know how long we
could have stood it. It is difficult to believe that
with strength enough to achieve the climb we should
have felt as weak and ill as we did.
That night, although we were very weary, none
of us slept much. The violent whooping cough con-
tinued and all of us were nauseated again in the
morning. We felt so badly and were able to take so
little nourishment that it was determined to get to
a lower altitude as fast as possible. To lighten our
loads we left behind some of our supplies. We broke
camp at 9 : 20. Eighteen minutes later, without
having to rest, the cache was reached and the few
remnants were picked up. Although many things
had been abandoned, our loads seemed heavier than
ever. We had some difficulty in negotiating the
crevasses, but Gamarra was the only one actually
to fall in, and he was easily pulled out again. About
noon we heard a faint halloo, and finally made out
two animated specks far down the mountain side.
The effect of again seeing somebody from the out-
side world was rather curious. I had a choking
sensation. Tucker, who led the way, told me long
afterward that he could not keep the tears from
running down his cheeks, although we did not see it
at the time. The "specks " turned out to be Watkins
and an Indian boy, who came up as high as was safe
without ropes or crampons, and relieved us of some
weight. The Base Camp was reached at half-past
48 INCA LAND
twelve. One of the first things Tucker did on return-
ing was to weigh all the packs. To my surprise and
disgust I learned that on the way down Tucker,
afraid that some of us would collapse, had carried
sixty-one pounds, and Gamarra sixty-four, while
he had given me only thirty-one pounds, and the
same to Coello. This, of course, does not include the
weight of our ice-creepers, axes, or rope.
The next day all of us felt very tired and drowsy.
In fact, I was almost overcome with inertia. It was
a fearful task even to lift one's hand. The sun had
burned our faces terribly. Our lips were painfully
swollen. We coughed and whooped. It seemed best
to make every effort to get back to a still lower
altitude for the mules. So we broke camp, got the
loads ready without waiting, put our sleeping-bags
and blankets on our backs, and went rapidly down
to the Indians' huts. Immediately our malaise left
us. We felt physically stronger. We took deep
breaths as though we had gotten back to sea level.
There was no sensation of oppression on the chest.
Yet we were still actually higher than the top of
Pike's Peak. We could move rapidly about without
getting out of breath; the aggravating "whooping
cough" left us; and our appetites returned. To be
sure, we still suffered from the effects of snow and
sun. On the ascent I had been very thirsty and
foolishly had allowed myself to eat a considerable
amount of snow. As a result my tongue was now
so extremely sensitive that pieces of soda biscuit
tasted like broken glass. Corporal Gamarra, who
had been unwilling to keep his snow-glasses always
CLIMBING COROPUNA 49
in place and thought to relieve his eyes by fre-
quently dispensing with them, now suffered from
partial snow-blindness. The rest of us were spared
any inflammation of the eyes. There followed two
days of resting and waiting. Then the smiling
arrieros, surprised and delighted at seeing us alive
again after our adventure with Coropuna, arrived
with our mules. The Tejadas gave us hearty em-
braces and promptly went off up to the snow line
to get the loads. The next day we returned to Chu-
quibamba.
In November Chief Topographer Hendriksen
completed his survey and found the latitude of
Coropuna to be 15° 31' South, and the longitude to
be '72° 42' 40'' West of Greenwich. He computed its
altitude to be 21,703 feet above sea level. The result
of comparing the readings of our mercurial barom-
eter, taken at the summit, with the simultaneous
readings taken at Arequipa gave practically the
same figures. There was less than sixty feet differ-
ence between the two. Although Coropuna proves
to be thirteen hundred feet lower than Bandelier's
estimate, and a thousand feet lower than the high-
est mountain in South America, still it is a thousand
feet higher than the highest mountain in North
America. While we were glad we were the first to
reach the top, we all agreed we would never do it
again I
CHAPTER III
TO PARINACOCHAS
A FTER a few days in the delightful climate of
Jl\- Chuquibamba we set out for Parinacochas, the
"Flamingo Lake" of the Incas. The late Sir
Clements Markham, literary and historical suc-
cessor of the author of "The Conquest of Peru,"
had called attention to this unexplored lake in one
of the publications of the Royal Geographical So-
ciety, and had named a bathymetric survey of
Parinacochas as one of the principal desiderata for
future exploration in Peru. So far as one could
judge from the published maps Parinacochas, al-
though much smaller than Titicaca, was the largest
body of water entirely in Peru. A thorough search
of geographical literature failed to reveal anything
regarding its depth. The only thing that seemed to
be known about it was that it had no outlet. Gen-
eral William Miller, once British consul general in
Honolulu, who had as a young man assisted General
San Martin in the Wars for the Independence of
Chile and Peru, published his memoirs in London
in 1828. During the campaigns against the Spanish
forces in Peru he had had occasion to see many out-
of-the-way places in the interior. On one of his
rough sketch maps he indicates the location of Lake
Parinacochas and notes the fact that the water is
"brackish." This statement of General Miller's and
TO PARINACOCHAS 51
the suggestion of Sir Clements Markham that a
bathymetric survey of the lake would be an impor-
tant contribution to geographical knowledge was all
that we were able to learn. Our arrieros, the Teja-
das, had never been to Parinacochas, but knew in a
general way its location and were not afraid to try to
get there. Some of their friends had been there and
come back alive !
First, however, it was necessary for us to go
to Cotahuasi, the capital of the Province of Anta-
bamba, and meet Dr. Bowman and Mr. Hendriksen,
who had slowly been working their way across the
Andes from the Urubamba Valley, and who would
need a new supply of food-boxes if they were to
complete the geographical reconnaissance of the 73d
meridian. Our route led us out of the Chuquibamba
Valley by a long, hard climb up the steep cliffs at its
head and then over the gently sloping, semi-arid
desert in a northerly direction, around the west
flanks of Coropuna. When we stopped to make
camp that night on the Pampa of Chumpillo, our
arrieros used dried moss and dung for fuel for the
camp fire. There was some bunch-grass, and there
were llamas pasturing on the plains. Near our tent
were some Inca ruins, probably the dwelling of a
shepherd chief, or possibly the remains of a tem-
ple described by Cieza de Leon (15 19-1560), whose
remarkable accounts of what he saw and learned in
Peru during the time of the Pizarros are very highly
regarded. He says that among the five most im-
portant temples in the Land of the Incas was one
"much venerated and frequented by them, named
53 INCA LAND
Coropuna." " It is on a very lofty mountain which
is covered with snow both in summer and winter.
The kings of Peru visited this temple making pres-
ents and offerings. ... It is held for certain [by
treasure hunters!] that among the gifts offered to
this temple there were many loads of silver, gold,
and precious stones buried in places which are now
unknown. The Indians concealed another great sum
which was for the service of the idol, and of the
priests and virgins who attended upon it. But as
there are great masses of snow, people do not ascend
to the summit, nor is it known where these are
hidden. This temple possessed many flocks, farms,
and service of Indians." No one lives here now, but
there are many flocks and llamas, and not far away
we saw ancient storehouses and burial places. That
night we suffered from intense cold and were kept
awake by the bitter wind which swept down from
the snow fields of Coropuna and shook the walls of
our tent violently.
The next day we crossed two small oases, little
gulches watered from the melting snow of Coropuna.
Here there was an abundance of peat and some small
gnarled trees from which Chuquibamba derives
part of its fuel supply. We climbed slowly around
the lower spurs of Coropuna into a bleak desert
wilderness of lava blocks and scoriaceous sand, the
Red Desert, or Pampa Colorada. It is for the most
part between 15,000 and 16,000 feet above sea level,
and is bounded on the northwest by the canyon of
the Rio Arma, 2000 feet deep, where we made our
camp and passed a more agreeable night. The fol-
TO PARINACOCHAS 53
lowing morning we climbed out again on the farther
side of the canyon and skirted the eastern slopes
of Mt. Solimana. Soon the trail turned abruptly to
the left, away from our old friend Coropuna.
We wondered how long ago our mountain was an
active volcano. To-day, less than two hundred miles
south of here are live peaks, like El Misti and Ubi-
nas, which still smolder occasionally and have been
known in the memory of man to give forth great
showers of cinders covering a wide area. Possibly
not so very long ago the great truncated peak of
Coropuna was formed by a last flickering of the
ancient fires. Dr. Bowman says that the greater
part of the vast accumulation of lavas and volcanic
cinders in this vicinity goes far back to a period pre-
ceding the last glacial epoch. The enormous amount
of erosion that has taken place in the adjacent
canyons and the great numbers of strata, composed
of lava flows, laid bare by the mighty streams of the
glacial period all point to this conclusion.
My saddle mule was one of those cantankerous
beasts that are gentle enough as long as they are
allowed to have their own way. In her case this
meant that she was happy only when going along
close to her friends in the caravan. If reined in,
while I took some notes, she became very restive,
finally whirling around, plunging and kicking.
Contrariwise, no amount of spurring or lashing with
a stout quirt availed to make her go ahead of her
comrades. This morning I was particularly anxious
to get a picture of our pack train jogging steadily
along over the desert, directly away from Coropuna.
54 INCA LAND
Since my mule would not gallop ahead, I had to dis-
mount, run a couple of hundred yards ahead of the
rapidly advancing animals and take the picture
before they reached me. We were now at an eleva-
tion of 16,000 feet above sea level. Yet to my sur-
prise and delight I found that it was relatively as
easy to run here as anywhere, so accustomed had
my lungs and heart become to very rarefied air.
Had I attempted such a strenuous feat at a similar
altitude before climbing Coropuna it would have
been physically impossible. Any one who has tried
to run two hundred yards at three miles above sea
level will understand.
We were still in a very arid region ; mostly coarse
black sand and pebbles, with typical desert shrubs
and occasional bunches of tough grass. The slopes
of Mt. Solimana on our left were fairly well covered
with sparse vegetation. Among the bushes we saw a
number of vicunas, the smallest wild camels of the
New World. We tried in vain to get near enough
for a photograph. They were extremely timid and
scampered away before we were within three hun-
dred yards.
Seven or eight miles more of very gradual down-
ward slope brought us suddenly and unexpectedly
to the brink of a magnificent canyon, the densely
populated valley of Cotahuasi. The walls of the
canyon were covered with innumerable terraces —
thousands of them. It seemed at first glance as
though every available spot in the canyon had been
either terraced or allotted to some compact little
village. One could count more than a score of towns,
TO PARINACOCHAS 55
including Cotahuasi itself, its long main street out-
lined by whitewashed houses. As we zigzagged down
into the canyon our road led us past hundreds of
the artificial terraces and through little villages of
thatched huts huddled together on spurs rescued
from the all-embracing agriculture. After spending
several weeks in a desert region, where only the
narrow valley bottoms showed any signs of cultiva-
tion, it seemed marvelous to observe the extent to
which terracing had been carried on the side of the
Cotahuasi Valley. Although we were now in the
zone of light annual rains, it was evident from the
extraordinary irrigation system that agriculture
here depends very largely on ability to bring water
down from the great mountains in the interior.
Most of the terraces and irrigation canals were built
centuries ago, long before the discovery of America.
No part of the ancient civilization of Peru has
been more admired than the development of agri-
culture. Mr. Cook says that there is no part of the
world in which more pains have been taken to raise
crops where nature made it hard for them to be
planted. In other countries, to be sure, we find
reclamation projects, where irrigation canals serve
to bring water long distances to be used on arid but
fruitful soil. We also find great fertilizer factories
turning out, according to proper chemical formula,
the needed constituents to furnish impoverished
soils with the necessary materials for plant growth.
We find man overcoming many obstacles in the way
of transportation, in order to reach great regions
where nature has provided fertile fields and made
56 INCA LAND
it easy to raise life-giving crops. Nowhere outside of
Peru, either in historic or prehistoric times, does one
find farmers spending incredible amounts of labor
in actually creating arable fields, besides bringing
the water to irrigate them and the guano to fertilize
them; yet that is what was done by the ancient
highlanders of Peru. As they spread over a country
in which the arable flat land was usually at so great
an elevation as to be suitable for only the hardiest
of root crops, like the white potato and the oca, they
were driven to use narrow valley bottoms and steep,
though fertile, slopes in order to raise the precious
maize and many of the other temperate and tropical
plants which they domesticated for food and medi-
cinal purposes. They were constantly confronted
by an extraordinary scarcity of soil. In the valley
bottoms torrential rivers, meandering from side to
side, were engaged in an endless endeavor to tear
away the arable land and bear it off to the sea. The
slopes of the valleys were frequently so very steep
as to discourage the most ardent modern agricul-
turalist. The farmer might wake up any morning to
find that a heavy rain during the night had washed
away a large part of his carefully planted fields.
Consequently there was developed, through the
centuries, a series of stone-faced andenes, terraces
or platforms.
Examination of the ancient andenes discloses the
fact that they were not made by simply hoeing in
the earth from the hillside back of a carefully con-
structed stone wall. The space back of the walls was
first filled in with coarse rocks, clay, and rubble;
TO PARINACOCHAS 57
then followed smaller rocks, pebbles, and gravel,
which would serve to drain the subsoil. Finally, on
top of all this, and to a depth of eighteen inches or
so, was laid the finest soil they could procure. The
result was the best possible field for intensive culti-
vation. It seems absolutely unbelievable that such
an immense amount of pains should have been taken
for such relatively small results. The need must
have been very great. In many cases the terraces
are only a few feet wide, although hundreds of yards
in length. Usually they follow the natural contours
of the valley. Sometimes they are two hundred
yards wide and a quarter of a mile long. To-day
com, barley, and alfalfa are grown on the terraces.
Cotahuasi itself lies in the bottom of the valley,
a pleasant place where one can purchase the most
fragrant and highly prized of all Peruvian wines.
The climate is agreeable, and has attracted many
landlords, whose estates lie chiefly on the bleak
plateaus of the surrounding highlands, where shep-
herds tend flocks of llamas, sheep, and alpacas.
We were cordially welcomed by Sefior Viscarra,
the sub-prefect, and invited to stay at his house.
He was a stranger to the locality, and, as the visible
representative of a powerful and far-away central
government, was none too popular with some of the
people of his province. Very few residents of a pro-
vincial capital like Cotahuasi have ever been to
Lima; — probably not a single member of the Lima
government had ever been to Cotahuasi. Conse-
quently one could not expect to find much sympathy
between the two. The difliculties of traveling in
58 INCA LAND
Peru are so great as to discourage pleasure trips.
With our letters of introduction and the telegrams
that had preceded us from the prefect at Arequipa,
we were known to be friends of the government and
so were doubly welcome to the sub-prefect. By
nature a kind and generous man, of more than
usual education and intelligence, Seiior Viscarra
showed himself most courteous and hospitable to us
in every particular. In our honor he called together
his friends. They brought pictures of Theodore
Roosevelt and Elihu Root, and made a large Ameri-
can flag; a courtesy we deeply appreciated, even if
the flag did have only thirty-six stars. Finally, they
gave us a splendid banquet as a tribute of friendship
for America.
One day the sub-prefect offered to have his
personal barber attend us. It was some time since
Mr. Tucker and I had seen a barber-shop. The
chances were that we should find none at Parina-
cochas. Consequently we accepted with pleasure.
When the barber arrived, closely guarded by a
gendarme armed with a loaded rifle, we learned that
he was a convict from the local jail! I did not like
to ask the nature of his crime, but he looked like a
murderer. When he unwrapped an ancient pair of
clippers from an unspeakably soiled and oily rag, I
wished I was in a position to decline to place myself
under his ministrations. The sub-prefect, however,
had been so kind and was so apologetic as to the
inconveniences of the "barber-shop" that there was
nothing for it but to go bravely forward. Although
it was unpleasant to have one's hair trimmed by an
TO PARINACOCHAS 59
uncertain pair of rusty clippers, I could not help ex-
periencing a feeling of relief that the convict did not
have a pair of shears. He was working too near my
jugular vein. Finally the period of torture came to
an end, and the prisoner accepted his fees with a
profound salutation. We breathed sighs of relief,
not unmixed with sympathy, as we saw him marched
safely away by the gendarme.
We had arrived in Cotahuasi almost simulta-
neously with Dr. Bowman and Topographer Hen-
driksen. They had encountered extraordinary diffi-
culties in carrying out the reconnaissance of the
73d meridian, but were now past the worst of it.
Their supplies were exhausted, so those which we had
brought from Arequipa were doubly welcome. Mr.
Watkins was assigned to assist Mr. Hendriksen and
a few days later Dr. Bowman started south to study
the geology and geography of the desert. He took
with him as escort Corporal Gamarra, who was
only too glad to escape from the machinations of
his enemies. It will be remembered that it was
Gamarra who had successfully defended the Cota-
huasi barracks and jail at the time of a revolution-
ary riot which occurred some months previous to
our visit. The sub-prefect accompanied Dr. Bow-
man out of town. For Gamarra's sake they left the
house at three o'clock in the morning and our gener-
ous host agreed to ride with them until daybreak.
In his important monograph, "The Andes of South-
ern Peru," Dr. Bowman writes: "At four o'clock our
whispered arrangements were made. We opened
the gates noiselessly and our small cavalcade hur-
60 INCA LAND
ried through the pitch-black streets of the town.
The soldier rode ahead, his rifle across his saddle,
and directly behind him rode the sub-prefect and
myself. The pack mules were in the rear. We had
almost reached the end of the street when a door
opened suddenly and a shower of sparks flew out
ahead of us. Instantly the soldier struck spurs into
his mule and turned into a side street. The sub-
prefect drew his horse back savagely, and when the
next shower of sparks flew out pushed me against
the wall and whispered, 'For God's sake, who is it?*
Then suddenly he shouted. 'Stop blowing! Stop
blowing ! ' "
The cause of all the disturbance was a shabby,
hard-working tailor who had gotten up at this
unearthly hour to start his day's work by pressing
clothes for some insistent customer. He had in his
hand an ancient smoothing-iron filled with live
coals, on which he had been vigorously blowing.
Hence the sparks! That a penitent tailor and his
ancient goose should have been able to cause such
terrific excitement at that hour in the morning
would have interested our own Oliver Wendell
Holmes, who was fond of referring to this pictur-
esque apparatus and who might have written an
appropriate essay on The Goose that Startled the
Soldier of Cotahuasi; with Particular Reference to
His Being a Possible Namesake of the Geese that
Aroused the Soldiers of Ancient Rome.
The most unusual industry of Cotahuasi is the
weaving of rugs and carpets on vertical hand looms.
The local carpet weavers make the warp and woof
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of woolen yam in which loops of alpaca wool, black,
gray, or white, are inserted to form the desired pat-
tern. The loops are cut so as to form a deep pile.
The result is a delightfully thick, warm, gray rug.
Ordinarily the native Peruvian rug has no pile.
Probably the industry was brought from Europe
by some Spaniard centuries ago. It seems to be re-
stricted to this remote region. The rug makers are a
small group of Indians who live outside the town but
who carry their hand looms from house to house, as
required. It is the custom for the person who desires
a rug to buy the wool, supply the pattern, furnish
the weaver with board, lodging, coca, tobacco and
wine, and watch the rug grow from day to day under
the shelter of his own roof. The rug weavers are
very clever in copying new patterns. Through the
courtesy of Senor Viscarra we eventually received
several small rugs, woven especially for us from
monogram designs drawn by Mr. Hendriksen.
Early one morning in November we said good-bye
to our friendly host, and, directed by a picturesque
old guide who said he knew the road to Parinaco-
chas, we left Cotahuasi. The highway crossed the
neighboring stream on a treacherous-looking bridge,
the central pier of which was built of the crudest
kind of masonry piled on top of a gigantic boulder
in midstream. The main arch of the bridge con-
sisted of two long logs across which had been thrown
a quantity of brush held down by earth and stones.
There was no rail on either side, but our mules had
crossed bridges of this type before and made little
trouble. On the northern side of the valley we rode
62 INCA LAND
through a compact little town called Mungi and
began to cHmb out of the canyon, passing hundreds
of very fine artificial terraces, at present used for
crops of maize and barley. In one place our road led
us by a little waterfall, an altogether surprising and
unexpected phenomenon in this arid region. Inves-
tigation, however, proved that it was artificial, as
well as the fields. Its presence may be due to a tem-
porary connection between the upper and lower
levels of ancient irrigation canals.
Hour after hour our pack train painfully climbed
the narrow, rocky zigzag trail. The climate is fav-
orable for agriculture. Wherever the sides of the
canyon were not absolutely precipitous, stone-faced
terraces and irrigation had transformed them long
ago into arable fields. Four thousand feet above the
valley floor we came to a very fine series of beautiful
terraces. On a shelf near the top of the canyon we
Ditched our tent near some rough stone corrals used
by shepherds whose flocks grazed on the lofty
plateau beyond, and near a tiny brook, which was
partly frozen over the next morning. Our camp was
at an elevation of 14,500 feet above the sea. Near
by were turreted rocks, curious results of wind-and-
sand erosion.
The next day we entered a region of mountain
pastures. We passed occasional swamps and little
pools of snow water. From one of these we turned
and looked back across the great Cotahuasi Canyon,
to the glaciers of Sollmana and snow-clad Coropuna,
now growing fainter and fainter as we went toward
Parinacochas. At an altitude of 16,500 feet we
TO PARINACOCHAS 63
struck across a great barren plateau covered with
rocks and sand — hardly a Hving thing in sight.
In the midst of it we came to a beautiful lake,
but it was not Parinacochas. On the plateau it
was intensely cold. Occasionally I dismounted and
jogged along beside my mule in order to keep warm.
Again I noticed that as the result of my experiences
on Coropuna I suffered no discomfort, nor any
symptoms of mountain-sickness, even after trotting
steadily for four or five hundred yards. In the after-
noon we began to descend from the plateau toward
Lampa and found ourselves in the pasture lands of
Ajochiucha, where ichu grass and other little foliage
plants, watered by rain and snow, furnish forage
for large flocks of sheep, llamas, and alpacas. Their
owners live in the cultivated valleys, but the Indian
herdsmen must face the storms and piercing winds
of the high pastures.
Alpacas are usually timid. On this occasion, how-
ever, possibly because they were thirsty and were
seeking water holes in the upper courses of a little
swale, they stopped and allowed me to observe them
closely. The fleece of the alpaca is one of the softest
in the world. However, due to the fact that shrewd
tradesmen, finding that the fabric manufactured
from alpaca wool was highly desired, many years
ago gave the name to a far cheaper fabric, the
"alpaca" of commerce, a material used for coat
linings, umbrellas, and thin, warm-weather coats,
is a fabric of cotton and wool, with a hard surface,
and generally dyed black. It usually contains no
real alpaca wool at all, and is fairly cheap. The real
64 INCA LAND
alpaca wool which comes into the market to-day is
not so called. Long and silky, straighter than the
sheep's wool, it is strong, small of fiber, very soft,
pliable and elastic. It is capable of being woven into
fabrics of great beauty and comfort. Many of the
silky, fluiTy, knitted garments that command the
highest prices for winter wear, and which are called
by various names, such as "vicuna," " camel's hair,"
etc., are really made of alpaca.
The alpaca, like its cousin, the llama, was proba-
bly domesticated by the early Peruvians from the
wild guanaco, largest of the camels of the New
World. The guanaco still exists in a wild state and is
always of uniform coloration. Llamas and alpacas
are extremely variegated. The llama has so coarse
a hair that it is seldom woven into cloth for wearing
apparel, although heavy blankets made from it are
in use by the natives. Bred to be a beast of burden,
the llama is accustomed to the presence of strangers
and is not any more timid of them than our horses
and cows. The alpaca, however, requiring better
and scarcer forage — short, tender grass and plenty
of water — frequents the most remote and lofty of
the mountain pastures, is handled only when the
fleece is removed, seldom sees any one except the
peaceful shepherds, and is extremely shy of stran-
gers, although not nearlyas timid as itsdistant cousin
the vicufia. I shall never forget the first time I ever
saw some alpacas. They looked for all the world
like the "woolly-dogs" of our toys shops — woolly
along the neck right up to the eyes and woolly along
the legs right down to the invisible wheels! There
TO PARINACOCHAS 65
was something inexpressibly comic about these long-
legged animals. They look like toys on wheels, but
actually they can gallop like cows.
The llama, with far less hair on head, neck, and
legs, is also amusing, but in a different way. His ex-
pression is haughty and supercilious in the extreme.
He usually looks as though his presence near one
is due to circumstances over which he really had
no control. Pride of race and excessive haughti-
ness lead him to carry his head so high and his neck
so stiffly erect that he can be corralled, with others
of his kind, by a single rope passed around the necks
of the entire group. Yet he can be bought for ten
dollars.
On the pasture lands of Ajochiucha there were
many ewes and lambs, both of llamas and alpacas.
Even the shepherds were mostly children, more
timid than their charges. They crouched incon-
spicuously behind rocks and shrubs, endeavoring to
escape our notice. About five o'clock in the after-
noon, on a dry pampa, we found the ruins of one of
the largest known Inca storehouses, Chichipampa,
an interesting reminder of the days when benevo-
lent despots ruled the Andes and, like the Pharaohs
of old, provided against possible famine. The local-
ity is not occupied, yet near by are populous valleys.
As soon as we left our camp the next morning, we
came abruptly to the edge of the Lampa Valley.
This was another of the mile-deep canyons so
characteristic of this region. Our pack mules
grunted and groaned as they picked their way down
the corkscrew trail. It overhangs the mud-colored
66 INCA LAND
Indian town of Colta, a rather scattered collection
of a hundred or more huts. Here again, as in the
Cotahuasi Valley, are hundreds of ancient terraces,
extending for thousands of feet up the sides of the
canyon. Many of them were badly out of repair, but
those near Colta were still being used for raising
crops of corn, potatoes, and barley. The unculti-
vated spots were covered with cacti, thorn bushes,
and the gnarled, stunted trees of a semi-arid region.
In the town itself were half a dozen specimens of the
Australian eucalyptus, that agreeable and extraor-
dinarily successful colonist which one encounters
not only in the heart of Peru, but in the Andes of
Colombia and the new forest preserves of California
and the Hawaiian Islands.
Colta has a few two-storied houses, with tiled
roofs. Some of them have open verandas on the
second floor — a sure indication that the climate is
at times comfortable. Their walls are built of sun-
dried adobe, and so are the walls of the little grass-
thatched huts of the majority. Judging by the
rather irregular plan of the streets and the great
number of terraces in and around town, one may
conclude that Colta goes far back of the sixteenth
century and the days of the Spanish Conquest, as
indeed do most Peruvian towns. The cities of Lima
and Arequipa are noteworthy exceptions. Leaving
Colta, we wound around the base of the projecting
ridge, on the sides of which were many evidences of
ancient culture, and came into the valley of Huan-
cahuanca, a large arid canyon. The guide said that
we were nearing Parinacochas. Not many miles
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TO PARINACOCHAS 67
away, across two canyons, was a snow-capped
peak, Sarasara.
Lampa, the chief town in the Huancahuanca
Canyon, lies on a great natural terrace of gravel and
alluvium more than a thousand feet above the river.
Part of the terrace seemed to be irrigated and un-
der cultivation. It was proposed by the energetic
farmers at the time of our visit to enlarge the system
of irrigation so as to enable them to cultivate a
larger part of the pampa on which they lived. In
fact, the new irrigation scheme was actually in
process of being carried out and has probably long
since been completed. Our reception in Lampa was
not cordial. It will be remembered that our military
escort. Corporal Gamarra, had gone back to Are-
quipa with Dr. Bowman. Our two excellent arrieros,
the Tejada brothers, declared they preferred to
travel without any "brass buttons," so we had not
asked the sub-prefect of Cotahuasi to send one of
his small handful of gendarmes along with us. Prob-
ably this was a mistake. Unless one is traveling
in Peru on some easily understood matter, such as
prospecting for mines or representing one of the
great importing and commission houses, or actu-
ally peddling goods, one cannot help arousing the
natural suspicions of a people to whom traveling
on muleback for pleasure is unthinkable, and scien-
tific exploration for its own sake is incomprehen-
sible. Of course, if the explorers arrive accompanied
by a gendarme it is perfectly evident that the enter-
prise has the approval and probably the financial
backing of the government. It is surmised that the
68 INCA LAND
explorers are well paid, and what would be otherwise
inconceivable becomes merely one of the ordinary
experiences of life. South American governments
almost without exception are paternalistic, and
their citizens are led to expect that all measures con-
nected with research, whether it be scientific, eco-
nomic, or social, are to be conducted by the govern-
ment and paid for out of the national treasury.
Individual enterprise is not encouraged. During all
my preceding exploration in Peru I had had such
an easy time that I not only forgot, but failed to
realize, how often an ever-present gendarme, pro-
vided through the courtesy of President Leguia's
government, had quieted suspicions and assured us
a cordial welcome.
Now, however, when without a gendarme we
entered the smart little town of Lampa, we found
ourselves immediately and unquestionably the ob-
jects of extreme suspicion and distrust. Yet we
could not help admiring the well-swept streets,
freshly whitewashed houses, and general air of
prosperity and enterprise. The gohernador of the
town lived on the main street in a red-tiled house,
whose courtyard and colonnade were probably two
hundred years old. He had heard nothing of our
undertaking from the government. His friends
urged him to take some hostile action. Fortunately,
our arrieros, respectable men of high grade, although
strangers in Lampa, were able to allay his suspicions
temporarily. We were not placed under arrest,
although I am sure his action was not approved by
the very suspicious town councilors, who found it far
. TO PARINACOCHAS 69
easier to suggest reasons for our being fugitives from
justice than to understand the real object of our
journey.
The very fact that we were bound for Lake Pari-
nacochas, a place well known in Lampa, added to
their suspicion. It seems that Lampa is famous for.
its weavers, who utilize the wool of the countless
herds of sheep, alpacas, and vicunas in this vicinity
to make ponchos and blankets of high grade, much
desired not only in this locality but even in Are-
quipa. These are marketed, as so often happens in
the outlying parts of the world, at a great annual
fair, attended by traders who come hundreds of
miles, bringing the manufactured articles of the
outer world and seeking the highly desired products
of these secluded towns. The great fair for this
vicinity has been held, for untold generations, on
the shores of Lake Parinacochas. Every one is
anxious to attend the fair, which is an occasion for
seeing one's friends, an opportunity for jollification,
carousing, and general enjoyment — like a large
county fair at home. Except for this annual fair
week, the basin of Parinacochas is as bleak and
desolate as our own fair-grounds, with scarcely a
house to be seen except those that are used for the
purposes of the fair. Had we been bound for Parina-
cochas at the proper season nothing could have been
more reasonable and praiseworthy. Why anybody
should want to go to Parinacochas during one of the
other fifty-one weeks in the year was utterly beyond
the comprehension or understanding of these village
worthies. So, to our "selectmen," are the idiosyn-
70 INCA LAND
crasies of itinerant gypsies who wish to camp in our
deserted fair-grounds.
The Tejadas were not anxious to spend the night
in town — probably because, according to our con-
tract, the cost of feeding the mules devolved entirely
upon them and fodder is always far more expensive
in town than in the country. It was just as well for
us that this was so, for I am sure that before morn-
ing the village gossips would have persuaded the
gohernador to arrest us. As it was, however, he was
pleasant and hospitable, and considerably amused at
the embarrassment of an Indian woman who was
weaving at a hand loom in his courtyard and whom
we desired to photograph. She could not easily es-
cape, for she was sitting on the ground with one end
of the loom fastened around her waist, the other end
tied to a eucalyptus tree. So she covered her eyes
and mouth with her hands, and almost wept with
mortification at our strange procedure. Peruvian
Indian women are invariably extremely shy, rarely
like to be photographed, and are anxious only to
escape observation and notice. The ladies of the
gohernador' s own family, however, of mixed Span-
ish and Indian ancestry, not only had no objection
to being photographed, but were moved to un-
seemly and unsympathetic laughter at the predica-
ment of their unfortunate sister.
After leaving Lampa we found ourselves on the
best road that we had seen in a long time. Its
excellence was undoubtedly due to the enterprise
and energy of the people of this pleasant town. One
might expect that citizens who kept their town so
TO PARINACOCHAS 71
clean and neat and were engaged in the unusual act
of constructing new irrigation works would have a
comfortable road in the direction toward which they
usually would wish to go, namely, toward the coast.
As we climbed out of the Huancahuanca Valley
we noticed no evidences of ancient agricultural ter-
races, either on the sides of the valley or on the
alluvial plain which has given rise to the town of
Lampa and whose products have made its people
well fed and energetic. The town itself seems to be
of modern origin. One wonders why there are so
few, if any, evidences of the ancient regime when
there are so many a short distance away in Colta
and the valley around it. One cannot believe that
the Incas would have overlooked such a fine agri-
cultural opportunity as an extensive alluvial terrace
in a region where there is so little arable land. Pos-
sibly the very excellence of the land and its relative
flatness rendered artificial terracing unnecessary in
the minds of the ancient people who lived here.
On the other hand, it may have been occupied until
late Inca times by one of the coast tribes. Whatever
the cause, certainly the deep canyon of Huanca-
huanca divides two very different regions. To
come in a few hours, from thickly terraced Colta
to unterraced Lampa was so striking as to give us
cause for thought and speculation. It is well known
that in the early days before the Inca conquest of
Peru, not so very long before the Spanish Conquest,
there were marked differences between the tribes
who inhabited the high plateau and those who lived
along the shore of the Pacific. Their pottery is as
72 INCA LAND
different as possible in design and ornamentation;
the architecture of their cities and temples is ab-
solutely distinct. Relative abundance of flat lands
never led them to develop terracing to the same
extent that the mountain people had done. Per-
haps on this alluvial terrace there lived a remnant
of the coastal peoples. Excavation would show.
Scarcely had we climbed out of the valley of
Huancahuanca and surmounted the ridge when we
came in sight of more artificial terraces. Beyond a
broad, deep valley rose the extinct volcanic cone of
Mt. Sarasara, now relatively close at hand, its lower
slopes separated from us by another canyon. Snow
lay in the gulches and ravines near the top of the
mountain. Our road ran near the towns of Pararca
and Colcabamba, the latter much like Colta, a
straggling village of thatched huts surrounded by
hundreds of terraces. The vegetation on the valley
slopes indicated occasional rains. Near Pararca we
passed fields of barley and wheat growing on old
stone-faced terraces. On every hand were signs of
a fairly large population engaged in agriculture,
utilizing fields which had been carefully prepared
for them by their ancestors. They were not using all,
however. We noticed hundreds of terraces that did
not appear to have been under cultivation recently.
They may have been lying fallow temporarily.
Our arrieros avoided the little towns, and selected
a camp site on the roadside near the Finca Rodadero.
After all, when one has a comfortable tent, good food,
and skillful arrieros it is far pleasanter to spend the
night in the clean, open country, even at an eleva-
TO PARINACOCHAS 73
tion of 12,000 or 13,000 feet, than to be surrounded
by the smells and noises of an Indian town.
The next morning we went through some wheat
fields, past the town of Puyusca, another large
Indian village of thatched adobe houses placed
high on the shoulder of a rocky hill so as to leave the
best arable land available for agriculture. It is in a
shallow, well-watered valley, full of springs. The
appearance of the country had changed entirely
since we left Cotahuasi. The desert and its steep-
walled canyons seemed to be far behind us. Here
was a region of gently sloping hills, covered with
terraces, where the cereals of the temperate zone
appeared to be easily grown. Finally, leaving the
grain fields, we climbed up to a shallow depression
in the low range at the head of the valley and found
ourselves on the rim of a great upland basin more
than twenty miles across. In the center of the basin
was a large, oval lake. Its borders were pink. The
water in most of the lake was dark blue, but near
the shore the water was pink, a light salmon-pink.
What could give it such a curious color? Nothing
but flamingoes, countless thousands of flamingoes —
Parinacochas at last!
CHAPTER IV
FLAMINGO LAKE
THE Parinacochas Basin is at an elevation of
between 11,500 and 12,000 feet above sea level.
It is about 150 miles northwest of Arequipa and 170
miles southwest of Cuzco, and enjoys a fair amount
of rainfall. The lake is fed by springs and small
streams. In past geological times the lake, then
very much larger, had an outlet not far from the
town of Puyusca. At present Parinacochas has no
visible outlet. It is possible that the large springs
which we noticed as we came up the valley by
Puyusca may be fed from the lake. On the other
hand, we found numerous small springs on the very
borders of the lake, generally occurring in swampy
hillocks — built up perhaps by mineral deposits —
three or four feet higher than the surrounding plain.
There are very old beach marks well above the
shore. The natives told us that in the wet season
the lake was considerably higher than at present,
although we could find no recent evidence to indi-
cate that it had been much more than a foot above
its present level. Nevertheless a rise of a foot would
enlarge the area of the lake considerably.
When making preparations in New Haven for the
"bathymetric survey of Lake Parinacochas," sug-
gested by Sir Clements Markham, we found it im-
possible to discover any indication in geographical
FLAMINGO LAKE 75
literature as to whether the depth of the lake might
be ten feet or ten thousand feet. We decided to take
a chance on its not being more than ten hundred
feet. With the kind assistance of Mr. George Bas-
sett, I secured a thousand feet of stout fish line,
known to anglers as "24 thread," wound on a large
wooden reel for convenience in handling. While we
were at Chuquibamba Mr. Watkins had spent many
weary hours inserting one hundred and sixty-six
white and red cloth markers at six-foot intervals in
the strands of this heavy line, so that we might be
able more rapidly to determine the result in fathoms.
Arrived at a low peninsula on the north shore of
the lake, Tucker and I pitched our camp, sent our
mules back to Puyusca for fodder, and set up the
Acme folding boat, which we had brought so many
miles on muleback, for the sounding operations.
The "Acme" proved easy to assemble, although
this was our first experience with it. Its lightness
enabled it to be floated at the edge of the lake even
in very shallow water, and its rigidity was much
appreciated in the late afternoon when the high
winds raised a vicious little "sea." Rowing out on
waters which we were told by the natives had never
before been navigated by craft of any kind, I began
to take soundings. Lake Titicaca is over nine hun-
dred feet deep. It would be aggravating if Lake
Parinacochas should prove to be over a thousand,
for I had brought no extra line. Even nine hundred
feet would make sounding slow work, and the lake
covered an area of over seventy square miles.
It was with mixed feelings of trepidation and ex-
76 INCA LAND
pectation that I rowed out five miles from shore and
made a sounding. Holding the large reel firmly in
both hands, I cast the lead overboard. The reel
gave a turn or two and stopped. Something was
wrong. The line did not run out. Was the reel
stuck? No, the apparatus was in perfect running
order. Then what was the matter? The bottom was
too near! Alas for all the pains that Mr. Bassett
had taken to put a thousand feet of the best strong
24-thread line on one reel! Alas for Mr. Watkins
and his patient insertion of one hundred and sixty-
six "fathom-markers" ! The bottom of the lake was
only four feet away from the bottom of my boat!
After three or four days of strenuous rowing up and
down the eighteen miles of the lake's length, and
back and forth across the seventeen miles of its
width, I never succeeded in wetting Watkins's first
marker! Several hundred soundings failed to show
more than five feet of water anywhere. Possibly
if we had come in the rainy season we might at least
have wet one marker, but at the time of our visit
(November, 191 1), the lake had a maximum depth
of 4>^ feet. The satisfaction of making this slight
contribution to geographic knowledge was, I fear,
lost in the chagrin of not finding a really noteworthy
body of water.
Who would have thought that so long a lake could
be so shallow? However, my feelings were soothed
by remembering the story of the captain of a man-
of-war who was once told that the salt lake near one
of the red hills between Honolulu and Pearl Harbor
was reported by the natives to be "bottomless."
FLAMINGO LAKE 77
He ordered one of the ship's heavy boats to be car-
ried from the shore several miles inland to the salt
lake, at great expenditure of strength and labor.
The story told me in my boyhood does not say how
much sounding line was brought. Anyhow, they
found this "fathomless" body of water to be not
more than fifteen feet deep.
Notwithstanding my disappointment at the depth
of Parinacochas, I was very glad that we had
brought the little folding boat, for it enabled me to
float gently about among the myriads of birds which
use the shallow waters of the lake as a favorite feed-
ing ground; pink flamingoes, white gulls, small
"divers," large black ducks, sandpipers, black ibis,
teal ducks, and large geese. On the banks were
ground owls and woodpeckers. It is not surprising
that the natives should have named this body of
water "Parinacochas" {Parina = "flamingo," co-
chas = "lake"). The flamingoes are here in incred-
ible multitudes; they far outnumber all other birds,
and as I have said, actually make the shallow waters
of the lake look pink. Fortunately they had not been
hunted for their plumage and were not timid. After
two days of familiarity with the boat they were
willing to let me approach within twenty yards
before finally taking wing. The coloring, in this
land of drab grays and browns, was a delight to the
eye. The head is white, the beak black, the neck
white shading into salmon-pink; the body pinkish
white on the back, the breast white, and the tail
salmon-pink. The wings are salmon-pink in front,
but the tips and the under-parts are black. As they
78 INCA LAND
stand or wade in the water their general appearance
is chiefly pink-and-white. When they rise from the
water, however, the black under-parts of the wings
become strikingly conspicuous and cause a flock
of flying flamingoes to be a wonderful contrast in
black-and-white. When flying, the flamingo seems
to keep his head moving steadily forward at an even
pace, although the ropelike neck undulates with the
slow beating of the wings. I could not be sure that it
was not an optical delusion. Nevertheless, I thought
the heavy body was propelled irregularly, while the
head moved forward at uniform speed, the differ-
ence being caught up in the undulations of the neck.
The flamingo is an amusing bird to watch. With
its haughty Roman nose and long, ropelike neck,
which it coils and twists in a most incredible man-
ner, it seems specially intended to distract one's
mind from bathymetric disappointments. Its hoarse
croaking, "What is it,'' "What is it/' seemed to
express deep-throated sympathy with the sounding
operations. On one bright moonlight night the
flamingoes were very noisy, keeping up a continual
clatter of very hoarse " What-is-it's." Apparently
they failed to find out the answer in time to go to
bed at the proper time, for next morning we found
them all sound asleep, standing in quiet bays with
their heads tucked under their wings. During the
course of the forenoon, when the water was quiet,
they waded far out into the lake. In the afternoon,
as winds and waves arose, they came in nearer the
shores, but seldom left the water. The great extent of
shallow water in Parinacochas offers them a splen-
L
\
C
r
>)
V|
/
\m
i
i^
L,
FLAMINGO LAKE 79
did, wide feeding ground. We wondered where they
all came from. Apparently they do not breed here.
Although there were thousands and thousands of
birds, we could find no flamingo nests, either old or
new, search as we would. It offers a most interest-
ing problem for some enterprising biological ex-
plorer. Probably Mr. Frank Chapman will some
day solve it.
Next in number to the flamingoes were the beauti-
ful white gulls (or terns?), looking strangely out of
place in this Andean lake 11,500 feet above the sea.
They usually kept together in flocks of several hun-
dred. There were quantities of small black divers in
the deeper parts of the lake where the flamingoes did
not go. The divers were very quick and keen, true
individualists operating alone and showing aston-
ishing ability in swimming long distances under
water. The large black ducks were much more fear-
less than the flamingoes and were willing to swim
very near the canoe. When frightened, they raced
over the water at a tremendous pace, using both
wings and feet in their efforts to escape. These
ducks kept in large flocks and were about as com-
mon as the small divers. Here and there in the
lake were a few tiny little islands, each containing a
single deserted nest, possibly belonging to an ibis or
a duck. In the banks of a low stream near our first
camp were holes made by woodpeckers, who in this
country look in vain for trees and telegraph poles.
Occasionally, a mile or so from shore, my boat
would startle a great amphibious ox standing in the
water up to his middle, calmly eating the succulent
8o INCA LAND
water grass. To secure it he had to plunge his head
and neck well under the surface.
While I was raising blisters and frightening oxen
and flamingoes, Mr. Tucker triangulated the Parina-
cochas Basin, making the first accurate map of this
vicinity. As he carried his theodolite from point to
point he often stirred up little ground owls, who
gazed at him with solemn, reproachful looks. And
they were not the only individuals to regard his
activities with suspicion and dislike. Part of my
work was to construct signal stations by piling rocks
at conspicuous points on the well-rounded hills so
as to enable the triangulation to proceed as rapidly
as possible. During the night some of these signal
stations would disappear, torn down by the super-
stitious shepherds who lived in scattered clusters of
huts and declined to have strange gods set up in
their vicinity. Perhaps they thought their pastures
were being preempted. We saw hundreds of their
sheep and cattle feeding on flat lands formerly the
bed of the lake. The hills of the Parinacochas Basin
are bare of trees, and offer some pasturage. In some
places they are covered with broken rock. The grass
was kept closely cropped by the degenerate descend-
ants of sheep brought into the country during Span-
ish colonial days. They were small in size and
mostly white in color, although there were many
black ones. We were told that the sheep were worth
about fifty cents apiece here.
On our first arrival at Parinacochas we were left
severely alone by the shepherds; but two days later
curiosity slowly overcame their shyness, and a
FLAMINGO LAKE 8i
group of young shepherds and shepherdesses gradu-
ally brought their grazing flocks nearer and nearer
the camp, in order to gaze stealthily on these strange
visitors, who lived in a cloth house, actually moved
over the forbidding waters of the lake, and busied
themselves from day to day with strange magic,
raising and lowering a glittering glass eye on a
tripod. The women wore dresses of heavy material,
the skirts reaching halfway from knee to ankle. In
lieu of hats they had small variegated shawls, made
on hand looms, folded so as to make a pointed bon-
net over the head and protect the neck and shoul-
ders from sun and wind. Each woman was busily
spinning with a hand spindle, but carried her baby
and its gear and blankets in a hammock or sling
attached to a tump-line that went over her head.
These sling carry-alls were neatly woven of soft
wool and decorated with attractive patterns. Both
women and boys were barefooted. The boys wore
old felt hats of native manufacture, and coats and
long trousers much too large for them.
At one end of the upland basin rises the graceful
cone of Mt. Sarasara. The view of its snow-capped
peak reflected in the glassy waters of the lake in the
early morning was one long to be remembered.
Sarasara must once have been much higher than it
is at present. Its volcanic cone has been sharply
eroded by snow and ice. In the days of its greater
altitude, and consequently wider snow fields, the
melting snows probably served to make Parinaco-
chas a very much larger body of water. Although we
were here at the beginning of summer, the wind that
82 INCA LAND
came down from the mountain at night was very
cold. Our minimum thermometer registered 22° F.
near the banks of the lake at night. Nevertheless,
there was only a very thin film of ice on the borders
of the lake in the morning, and except in the most
shallow bays there was no ice visible far from the
bank. The temperature of the water at 10:00 a.m.
near the shore, and ten inches below the surface, was
61° F., while farther out it was three or four degrees
warmer. By noon the temperature of the water
half a mile from shore was 67.5° F. Shortly after
noon a strong wind came up from the coast, stirring
up the shallow water and cooling it. Soon after-
wards the temperature of the water began to fall,
and, although the hot sun was shining brightly
almost directly overhead, it went down to 65° by
2:30 P.M.
The water of the lake is brackish, yet we were
able to make our camps on the banks of small
streams of sweet water, although in each case near
the shore of the lake. A specimen of the water, taken
near the shore, was brought back to New Haven
and analyzed by Dr. George S. Jamieson of the
Sheffield Scientific School. He found that it con-
tained small quantities of silica, iron phosphate,
magnesium carbonate, calcium carbonate, calcium
sulphate, potassium nitrate, potassium sulphate,
sodium borate, sodium sulphate, and a considerable
quantity of sodium chloride. Parlnacochas water
contains more carbonate and potassium than that of
the Atlantic Ocean or the Great Salt Lake. As com-
pared with the salinity of typical "salt" waters, that
FLAMINGO LAKE 83
of Lake Parinacochas occupies an intermediate posi-
tion, containing more than Lake Koko-Nor, less
than that of the Atlantic, and only one twentieth
the salinity of the Great Salt Lake.
When we moved to our second camp the Tejada
brothers preferred to let their mules rest in the
Puyusca Valley, where there was excellent alfalfa
forage. The arrieros engaged at their own expense
a pack train which consisted chiefly of Parinacochas
burros. It is the custom hereabouts to enclose the
packs in large-meshed nets made of rawhide which
are then fastened to the pack animal by a surcingle.
The Indians who came with the burro train were
pleasant-faced, sturdy fellows, dressed in "store
clothes" and straw hats. Their burros were as
cantankerous as donkeys can be, never fractious or
flighty, but stubbornly resisting, step by step, every
effort to haul them near the loads.
Our second camp was near the village of Inca-
huasi, "the house of the Inca," at the northwestern
corner of the basin. Raimondi visited it in 1863.
The representative of the owner of Parinacochas
occupies one of the houses. The other buildings are
used only during the third week in August, at the
time of the annual fair. In the now deserted plaza
were many low stone rectangles partly covered
with adobe and ready to be converted into booths.
The plaza was surrounded by long, thatched build-
ings of adobe and stone, mostly of rough ashlars.
A few ashlars showed signs of having been care-
fully dressed by ancient stonemasons. Some loose
ashlars weighed half a ton and had baffled the
attempts of modem builders.
84 INCA LAND
In constructing the large church, advantage was
taken of a beautifully laid wall of close-fitting ash-
lars. Incahuasi was well named ; there had been at
one time an Inca house here, possibly a temple —
lakes were once objects of worship — or rest-house,
constructed in order to enable the chiefs and tax-
gatherers to travel comfortably over the vast do-
mains of the Incas. We found the slopes of the hills
of the Parinacochas Basin to be well covered with
remains of ancient terraces. Probably potatoes and
other root crops were once raised here in fairly large
quantities. Perhaps deforestation and subsequent
increased aridity might account for the desertion of
these once-cultivated lands. The hills west of the
lake are intersected by a few dry gulches in which
are caves that have been used as burial places.
The caves had at one time been walled in with
rocks laid in adobe, but these walls had been partly
broken down so as to permit the sepulchers to be
rifled of whatever objects of value they might have
contained. We found nine or ten skulls lying loose
in the rubble of the caves. One of the skulls seemed
to have been trepanned.
On top of the ridge are the remains of an ancient
road, fifty feet wide, a broad grassy way through
fields of loose stones. No effort had been made at
grading or paving this road, and there was no evi-
dence of its having been used in recent times. It
runs from the lake across the ridge in a westerly
direction toward a broad valley, where there are
many terraces and cultivated fields; it is not far
from Nasca. Probably the stones were picked up
FLAMINGO LAKE 85
and piled on each side to save time in driving cara-
vans of llamas across the stony ridges. The llama
dislikes to step over any obstacle, even a very low
wall. The grassy roadway would certainly encour-
age the supercilious beasts to proceed in the desired
direction.
In many places on the hills were to be seen out-
lines of large and small rock circles and shelters
erected by herdsmen for temporary protection
against the sudden storms of snow and hail which
come up with unexpected fierceness at this elevation
(12,000 feet). The shelters were in a very ruinous
state. They were made of rough, scoriaceous lava
rocks. The circular enclosures varied from 8 to 25
feet in diameter. Most of them showed no evi-
dences whatever of recent occupation. The smaller
walls may have been the foundation of small circu-
lar huts. The larger walls were probably intended
as corrals, to keep alpacas and llamas from straying
at night and to guard against wolves or coyotes. I
confess to being quite mystified as to the age of
these remains. It is possible that they represent a
settlement of shepherds within historic times, al-
though, from the shape and size of the walls, I am
inclined to doubt this. The shelters may have been
built by the herdsmen of the Incas. Anyhow, those
on the hills west of Parinacochas had not been used
for a long time. Nasca, which is not very far away
to the northwest, was the center of one of the most
artistic pre-Inca cultures in Peru. It is famous for
its very delicate pottery.
Our third camp was on the south side of the lake.
86 INCA LAND
Near us the traces of the ancient road led to the
ruins of two large, circular corrals, substantiating
my belief that this curious roadway was intended
to keep the llamas from straying at will over the
pasture lands. On the south shores of the lake there
were more signs of occupation than on the north,
although there is nothing so clearly belonging to the
time of the Incas as the ashlars and finely built wall
at Incahuasi. On top of one of the rocky promon-
tories we found the rough stone foundations of the
walls of a little village. The slopes of the promon-
tory were nearly precipitous on three sides. Forty
or fifty very primitive dwellings had been at one
time huddled together here in a position which could
easily be defended. We found among the ruins a few
crude potsherds and some bits of obsidian. There
was nothing about the ruins of the little hill village
to give any indication of Inca origin. Probably it
goes back to pre-Inca days. No one could tell us
anything about it. If there were traditions con-
cerning it they were well concealed by the silent,
superstitious shepherds of the vicinity. Possibly
it was regarded as an unlucky spot, cursed by the
gods.
The neighboring slopes showed faint evidences of
having been roughly terraced and cultivated. The
tutu potato would grow here, a hardy variety not
edible in the fresh state, but considered highly de-
sirable for making potato flour after having been
repeatedly frozen and its bitter juices all extracted.
So would other highland root crops of the Peruvians,
such as the oca, a relative of our sheep sorrel, the
FLAMINGO LAKE 87
anu, a kind of nasturtium, and the ullucu (uUucus
tuber osus).
On the flats near the shore were large corrals still
kept in good repair. New walls were being built by
the Indians at the time of our visit. Near the south-
east corner of the lake were a few modern huts built
of stone and adobe, with thatched roofs, inhabited
by drovers and shepherds. We saw more cattle at
the east end of the lake than elsewhere, but they
seemed to prefer the sweet water grasses of the lake
to the tough bunch-grass on the slopes of Sarasara.
Viscachas were common amongst the gray lichen-
covered rocks. They are hunted for their beauti-
ful pearly gray fur, the "chinchilla" of commerce;
they are also very good eating, so they have dis-
appeared from the more accessible parts of Peru.
One rarely sees them, although they may be found
on bleak uplands in the mountains of Uilcapampa,
a region rarely visited by any one on account of
treacherous bogs and deep tarns. Writers some-
times call viscachas "rabbit-squirrels." They have
large, rounded ears, long hind legs, a long, bushy
tail, and do look like a cross between a rabbit and a
gray squirrel.
Surmounting one of the higher ridges one day, I
came suddenly upon an unusually large herd of wild
vicunas. It included more than one hundred in-
dividuals. Their relative fearlessness also testified
to the remoteness of Parinacochas and the small
amount of hunting that is done here. Vicunas have
never been domesticated, but are often hunted for
their skins. Their silky fleece is even finer than
88 INCA LAND
alpaca. The more fleecy portions of their skins are
sewed together to make quilts, as soft as eider down
and of a golden brown color.
After Mr. Tucker finished his triangulation of the
lake I told the arrieros to find the shortest road home.
They smiled, murmured "Arequipa," and started
south. We soon came to the rim of the Maraicasa
Valley where, peeping up over one of the hills far to
the south, we got a little glimpse of Coropuna. The
Maraicasa Valley is well inhabited and there were
many grain fields in sight, although few seemed to be
terraced. The surrounding hills were smooth and
well rounded and the valley bottom contained much
alluvial land. We passed through it and, after dark,
reached Sondor, a tiny hamlet inhabited by ex-
tremely suspicious and inhospitable drovers. In the
darkness Don Pablo pleaded with the owners of
a well-thatched hut, and told them how "impor-
tant" we were. They were unwilling to give us any
shelter, so we were forced to pitch our tent in the
very rocky and dirty corral immediately in front of
one of the huts, where pigs, dogs, and cattle annoyed
us all night. If we had arrived before dark we might
have received a different welcome. As a matter of
fact, the herdsmen only showed the customary
hostility of mountaineers and wilderness folk to
those who do not arrive in the daytime, when they
can be plainly seen and fully discussed.
The next morning we passed some fairly recent
lava flows and noted also many curious rock forms
caused by wind and sand erosion. We had now left
the belt of grazing lands and once more come into
FLAMINGO LAKE 89
the desert. At length we reached the rim of the
mile-deep Caraveli Canyon and our eyes were glad-
dened at sight of the rich green oasis, a striking con-
trast to the barren walls of the canyon. As we
descended the long, winding road we passed many
fine specimens of tree cactus. At the foot of the
steep descent we found ourselves separated from the
nearest settlement by a very wide river, which it
was necessary to ford. Neither of the Tejadas had
ever been here before and its depths and dangers
were unknown. Fortunately Pablo found a forlorn
individual living in a tiny hut on the bank, who indi-
cated which way lay safety. After an exciting two
hours we finally got across to the desired shore.
Animals and men were glad enough to leave the
high, arid desert and enter the oasis of Caraveli with
its luscious, green fields of alfalfa, its shady fig trees
and tall eucalyptus. The air, pungent with the
smell of rich vegetation, seemed cooler and more
invigorating.
We found at Caraveli a modern British enterprise,
the gold mine of "La Victoria." Mr. Prain, the
Manager, and his associates at the camp gave us a
cordial welcome, and a wonderful dinner which I
shall long remember. After two months in the
coastal desert it seemed like home. During the even-
ing we learned of the difficulties Mr. Prain had had
in bringing his machinery across the plateau from
the nearest port. Our own troubles seemed as
nothing. The cost of transporting on muleback
each of the larger pieces of the quartz stamping-mill
was equivalent to the price of a first-class pack
90 INCA LAND
mule. As a matter of fact, although it is only a two
days' journey, pack animals' backs are not built to
survive the strain of carrying pieces of machinery
weighing five hundred pounds over a desert plateau
up to an altitude of 4000 feet. Mules brought the
machinery from the coast to the brink of the canyon,
but no mule could possibly have carried it down the
steep trail into Caraveli. Accordingly, a windlass
had been constructed on the edge of the precipice
and the machinery had been lowered, piece by piece,
by block and tackle. Such was one of the obstacles
with which these undaunted engineers had had to
contend. Had the man who designed the machinery
ever traveled with a pack train, climbing up and
down over these rocky stairways called mountain
trails, I am sure that he would have made his cast-
ings much smaller.
It is astonishing how often people who ship goods
to the interior of South America fail to realize that
no single piece should be any heavier than a pack
animal can carry comfortably on one side. One hun-
dred and fifty pounds ought to be the extreme limit
of a unit. Even a large, strong mule will last only a
few days on such trails as are shown in the accom-
panying illustration if the total weight of his cargo
is over three hundred pounds. When a single piece
w^eighs more than two hundred pounds it has to be
balanced on the back of the animal. Then the load
rocks, and chafes the unfortunate mule, besides
causing great inconvenience and constant worry to
the muleteers. As a matter of expediency it is better
to have the individual units weigh about seventy-
r«®»'-;-|
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Oi
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en
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FLAMINGO LAKE 91
five pounds. Such a weight is easier for the arrieros
to handle in the loading, unloading, and reloading
that goes on all day long, particularly if the trail
is up-and-down, as usually happens in the Andes.
Furthermore, one seventy-five-pound unit makes a
fair load for a man or a llama, two are right for a
burro, and three for an average mule. Four can be
loaded, if necessary, on a stout mule.
The hospitable mining engineers urged us to pro-
long our stay at " La Victoria," but we had to hasten
on. Leaving the pleasant shade trees of Caraveli, we
climbed the barren, desolate hills of coarse gravel
and lava rock and left the canyon. We were sur-
prised to find near the top of the rise the scattered
foundations of fifty little circular or oval huts av-
eraging eight feet in diameter. There was no water
near here. Hardly a green thing of any sort was to
be seen in the vicinity, yet here had once been a
village. It seemed to belong to the same period as
that found on the southern slopes of the Parina-
cochas Basin. The road was one of the worst we
encountered anywhere, being at times merely a
rough, rocky trail over and among huge piles of
lava blocks. Several of the larger boulders were
covered with pictographs. They represented a ser-
pent and a sun, besides men and animals.
Shortly afterwards we descended to the Rio
Grande Valley at Callanga, where we pitched our
camps among the most extensive ruins that I have
seen in the coastal desert. They covered an area of
one hundred acres, the houses being crowded closely
together. It gave one a strange sensation to find
92 INCA LAND
such a very large metropolis in what is now a deso-
late region. The general appearance of Callanga was
strikingly reminiscent of some of the large groups
of ruins in our own Southwest. Nothing about it
indicated Inca origin. There were no terraces in the
vicinity. It is difficult to imagine what such a
large population could have done here, or how they
lived. The walls were of compact cobblestones,
rough-laid and stuccoed with adobe and sand. Most
of the stucco had come off. Some of the houses had
seats, or small sleeping-platforms, built up at one
end. Others contained two or three small cells,
possibly storerooms, with neither doors nor windows.
We found a number of burial cists — some square,
others rounded — lined with small cobblestones.
In one house, at the foot of "cellar stairs" we
found a subterranean room, or tomb. The entrance
to it was covered with a single stone lintel. In
examining this tomb Mr. Tucker had a narrow
escape from being bitten by a hoba, a venomous
snake, nearly three feet in length, with vicious
mouth, long fangs like a rattlesnake, and a strik-
ingly mottled skin. At one place there was a low
pyramid less than ten feet in height. To its top led
a flight of rude stone steps.
Among the ruins we found a number of broken
stone dishes, rudely carved out of soft, highly po-
rous, scoriaceous lava. The dishes must have been
hard to keep clean! We also found a small stone
mortar, probably used for grinding paint; a broken
stone war club; and a broken compact stone mortar
and pestle possibly used for grinding corn. Two
FLAMINGO LAKE 93
stones, a foot and a half long, roughly rounded, with
a shallow groove across the middle of the flatter
sides, resembled sinkers used by fishermen to hold
down large nets, although ten times larger than any
I had ever seen used. Perhaps they were to tie down
roofs in a gale. There were a few potsherds lying
on the surface of the ground, so weathered as to
have lost whatever decoration they once had. We
did no excavating. Callanga off"ers an interesting
field for archeological investigation. Unfortunately,
we had heard nothing of it previously, came upon it
unexpectedly, and had but little time to give it.
After the first night camp in the midst of the dead
city we made the discovery that although it seemed
to be entirely deserted, it was, as a matter of fact,
well populated ! I was reminded of Professor T. D.
Seymour's story of his studies in the ruins of ancient
Greece. We wondered what the fleas live on ordi-
narily.
Our next stopping-place was the small town of
Andaray, whose thatched houses are built chiefly
of stone plastered with mud. Near it we encoun-
tered two men with a mule, which they said they
were taking into town to sell and were willing to
dispose of cheaply. The Tejadas could not resist
the temptation to buy a good animal at a bargain,
although the circumstances were suspicious. Draw-
ing on us for six gold sovereigns, they smilingly
added the new mule to the pack train ; only to dis-
cover on reaching Chuquibamba that they had
purchased it from thieves. We were able to clear
our arrieros of any complicity in the theft. Never-
94 INCA LAND
theless, the owner of the stolen mule was unwilling
to pay anything for its return. So they lost their
bargain and their gold. We spent one night in
Chuquibamba, with our friend Senor Benavides,
the sub-prefect, and once more took up the well-
traveled route to Arequipa. We left the Majes
Valley in the afternoon and, as before, spent the
night crossing the desert.
About three o'clock in the morning — after we had
been jogging steadily along for about twelve hours
in the dark and quiet of the night, the only sound
the shuffle of the mules' feet in the sand, the only
sight an occasional crescent-shaped dune, dimly
visible in the starlight — the eastern horizon began
to be faintly illumined. The moon had long since
set. Could this be the approach of dawn? Sunrise
was not due for at least two hours. In the tropics
there is little twilight preceding the day; "the dawn
comes up like thunder." Surely the moon could
not be going to rise again ! What could be the mean-
ing of the rapidly brightening eastern sky? While
we watched and marveled, the pure white light grew
brighter and brighter, until we cried out in ecstasy
as a dazzling luminary rose majestically above the
horizon. A splendor, neither of the sun nor of the
moon, shone upon us. It was the morning star.
For sheer beauty, "divine, enchanting ravishment,"
Venus that day surpassed anything I have ever
seen. In the words of the great Eastern poet, who
had often seen such a sight in the deserts of Asia,
"the morning stars sang together and all the sons
of God shouted for joy."
Chapter v
TITICACA
AREQUIPA is one of the pleasantest places in
the world : mountain air, bright sunshine, warm
days, cool nights, and a sparkling atmosphere dear to
the hearts of star-gazers. The city lies on a plateau,
surrounded by mighty snow-capped volcanoes, Cha-
chani (20,000 ft.), El Misti (19,000 ft.), and Fichu
Fichu (18,000 ft.). Arequipa has only one night-
mare — earthquakes. About twice in a century the
spirits of the sleeping volcanoes stir, roll over, and
go to sleep again. But they shake the bed! And
Arequipa rests on their bed. The possibility of a
" terremoto'' is always present in the subconscious
mind of the Arequipeno.
One evening I happened to be dining with a
friend at the hospitable Arequipa Club. Suddenly
the windows rattled violently and we heard a loud
explosion ; at least that is what it sounded like to me.
To the members of the club, however, it meant only
one thing — an earthquake. Everybody rushed out ;
the streets were already crowded with hysterical
people, crying, shouting, and running toward the
great open plaza in front of the beautiful cathedral.
Here some dropped on their knees in gratitude at
having escaped from falling walls, others prayed to
the god of earthquakes to spare their city. Yet no
walls had fallen! In the business district a great
96 INCA LAND
column of black smoke was rising. Gradually it
became known to the panic-stricken throngs that
the noise and the trembling had not been due to an
earthquake, but to an explosion in a large ware-
house which had contained gasoline, kerosene, dyna-
mite and giant powder!
In this city of 35,000 people, the second largest of
Peru, fires are so very rare, not even annual, scarcely
biennial, that there were no fire engines. A bucket
brigade was formed and tried to quench the roaring
furnace by dipping water from one of the azequias, or
canals, that run through the streets. The fire con-
tinued to belch forth dense masses of smoke and
flame. In any American city such a blaze would
certainly become a great conflagration.
While the fire was at its height I went into the
adjoining building to see whether any help could be
rendered. To my utter amazement the surface of
the wall next to the fiery furnace was not even warm.
Such is the result of building houses with massive
walls of stone. Furthermore, the roofs in Arequipa
are of tiles; consequently no harm was done by
sparks. So, without a fire department, this really
terrible fire was limited to one warehouse ! The next
day the newspapers talked about the "dire neces-
sity" of securing fire engines. It was difficult for me
to see what good a fire engine could have done.
Nothing could have saved the warehouse itself once
the fire got under way; and surely the houses next
door would have suffered more had they been
deluged with streams of water. The facts are almost
incredible to an American. We take it as a matter of
TITICACA 97
course that cities should have fires and explosions.
In Arequipa everybody thought it was an earth-
quake !
A day's run by an excellent railroad takes one to
Puno, the chief port of Lake Titicaca, elevation
12,500 feet. Puno boasts a soldier's monument and
a new theater, really a "movie palace." There is a
good harbor, although dredging is necessary to pro-
vide for steamers like the Inca. Repairs to the lake
boats are made on a marine — or, rather, a lacus-
trine — railway. The bay of Puno grows quantities
of totoras, giant bulrushes sometimes twelve feet
long. Ages ago the lake dwellers learned to dry the
totoras, tie them securely in long bundles, fasten
the bundles together, turn up the ends, fix smaller
bundles along the sides as a free-board, and so con-
struct a fishing-boat, or halsa. Of course the balsas
eventually become water-logged and spend a large
part of their existence on the shore, drying in the
sun. Even so, they are not very buoyant. I can
testify that it is difficult to use them without getting
one's shoes wet. As a matter of fact one should go
barefooted, or wear sandals, as the natives do.
The balsas are clumsy, and difficult to paddle.
The favorite method of locomotion is to pole or,
when the wind favors, sail. The mast is an A-shaped
contraption, twelve feet high, made of two light
poles tied together and fastened, one to each side of
the craft, slightly forward of amidships. Poles are
extremely scarce in this region — lumber has to be
brought from Puget Sound, 6000 miles away — so
98 INCA LAND
nearly all the masts I saw were made of small pieces
of wood spliced two or three times. To the apex of
the "A" is attached a forked stick, over which run
the halyards. The rectangular "sail" is nothing
more nor less than a large mat made of rushes. A
short forestay fastened to the sides of the "A" about
four feet above the hull prevents the mast from
falling when the sail is hoisted. The main halyards
take the place of a backstay. The balsas cannot beat
to windward, but behave very well in shallow water
with a favoring breeze. When the wind is contrary
the boatmen must pole. They are extremely careful
not to fall overboard, for the water in the lake is
cold, 55*^ F., and none of them know how to swim.
Lake Titicaca itself never freezes over, although
during the winter ice forms at night on the shallow
bays and near the shore.
When the Indians wish to go in the shallowest
waters they use a very small balsa not over eight
feet long, barely capable of supporting the weight
of one man. On the other hand, large balsas con-
structed for use in crossing the rough waters of the
deeper portions of the lake are capable of carrying
a dozen people and their luggage. Once I saw a
ploughman and his team of oxen being ferried across
the lake on a bulrush raft. To give greater security
two balsas are sometimes fastened together in the
fashion of a double canoe.
One of the more highly speculative of the Bolivian
writers, Seiior Posnansky, of La Paz, believes that
gigantic balsas were used in bringing ten-ton mono-
liths across the lake to Tiahuanaco. This theory
TITICACA 99
is based on the assumption that Titicaca was once
very much higher than it is now, a hypothesis which
has not commended itself to modern geologists or
geographers. Dr. Isaiah Bowman and Professor
Herbert Gregory, who have studied its geology and
physiography, have not been able to find any direct
evidence of former high levels for Lake Titicaca,
or of its having been connected with the ocean.
Nevertheless, Senor Posnansky believes that Lake
Titicaca was once a salt sea which became separated
from the ocean as the Andes rose. The fact that
the lake fishes are fresh-water, rather than marine,
forms does not bother him. Seiior Posnansky pins
his faith to a small dried seahorse once given him
by a Titicaca fisherman. He seems to forget that
dried specimens of marine life, including starfish,
are frequently offered for sale in the Andes by the
dealers in primitive medicines who may be found in
almost every market-place. Probably Senor Pos-
nansky's seahorse was brought from the ocean by
some particularly enterprising trader. Although
starfish are common enough in the Andes and a sea-
horse has actually found its resting-place in La Paz,
this does not alter the fact that scientific investiga-
tors have never found any strictly marine fauna in
Lake Titicaca. On the other hand, it has two or
three kinds of edible fresh-water fish. One of them
belongs to a species found in the Rimac River near
Lima. It seems to me entirely possible that the
Incas, with their scorn of the difficulties of carrying
heavy burdens over seemingly impossible trails,
might have deliberately transplanted the desirable
100 INCA LAND
fresh-water fishes of the Rimac River to Lake Titi-
caca.
Polo de Ondegardo, who lived in Cuzco in 1560,
says that the Incas used to bring fresh fish from the
sea by special runners, and that "they have records
in their quipus of the fish having been brought from
Tumbez, a distance of more than three hundred
leagues." The actual transference of water jars
containing the fish would have offered no serious
obstacle whatever to the Incas, provided the idea
happened to appeal to them as desirable. Yet I may
be as far wrong as Senor Posnansky! At any rate,
the romantic stories of a gigantic inland sea, vastly
more extensive than the present lake and actually
surrounding the ancient city of Tiahuanaco, must
be treated with respectful skepticism.
Tiahuanaco, at the southern end of Lake Titicaca,
in Bolivia, is famous for the remains of a pre-Inca
civilization. Unique among prehistoric remains in
the highlands of Peru or Bolivia are its carved mono-
lithic images. Although they have suffered from
weathering and from vandalism, enough remains to
show that they represent clothed human figures.
The richly decorated girdles and long tunics are
carved in low relief with an intricate pattern. While
some of the designs are undoubtedly symbolic of
the rank, achievements, or attributes of the divini-
ties or chiefs here portrayed, there is nothing hiero-
glyphic. The images are stiff and show no apprecia-
tion of the beauty of the human form. Probably the
ancient artists never had an opportunity to study
the human body. In Andean villages, even little
TITICACA loi
children do not go naked as they do among primitive
peoples who live in warm climates. The Highland-
ers of Peru and Bolivia are always heavily clothed,
day and night. Forced by their climate to seek com-
fort in the amount and thickness of their apparel,
they have developed an excessive modesty in regard
to bodily exposure which is in striking contrast to
people who live on the warm sands of the South
Seas. Inca sculptors and potters rarely employed
the human body as a motif. Tiahuanaco is pre-Inca,
yet even here the images are clothed. They were not
represented as clothed in order to make easier the
work of the sculptor. His carving shows he had
great skill, was observant, and had true artistic
feeling. Apparently the taboo against "nakedness"
was too much for him.
Among the thirty-six islands in Lake Titicaca,
some belong to Peru, others to Bolivia. Two of the
latter, Titicaca and Koati, were peculiarly venerated
in Inca days. They are covered with artificial
terraces, most of which are still used by the Indian
farmers of to-day. On both islands there are ruins of
important Inca structures. On Titicaca Island I was
shown two caves, out of which, say the Indians,
came the sun and moon at their creation. These
caves are not large enough for a man to stand up-
right, but to a people who do not appreciate the size
of the heavenly bodies it requires no stretch of the
imagination to believe that those bright disks came
forth from caves eight feet wide. The myth proba-
bly originated with dwellers on the western shore of
the lake who would often see the sun or moon rise
102 INCA LAND
over this island. On an ancient road that runs across
the island my native guide pointed out the "foot-
prints of the sun and moon" — two curious effects
of erosion which bear a distant resemblance to the
footprints of giants twenty or thirty feet tall.
The present-day Indians, known as Aymaras,
seem to be hard-working and fairly cheerful. The
impression which Bandelier gives, in his " Islands of
Titicaca and Koati, " of the degradation and surly
character of these Indians was not apparent at the
time of my short visit in 1915. It is quite possible,
however, that if I had to live among the Indians, as
he did for several months, digging up their ancient
places of worship, disturbing their superstitious
prejudices, and possibly upsetting, in their minds,
the proper balance between wet weather and dry, I
might have brought upon myself uncivil looks and
rough, churlish treatment such as he experienced.
In judging the attitude of mind of the natives of
Titicaca one should remember that they live under
most trying conditions of climate and environment.
During several months of the year everything is
dried up and parched. The brilliant sun of the
tropics, burning mercilessly through the rarefied air,
causes the scant vegetation to wither. Then come
torrential rains. I shall never forget my first experi-
ence on Lake Titicaca, when the steamer encount-
ered a rain squall. The resulting deluge actually
came through the decks. Needless to say, such
downpours tend to wash away the soil which the
farmers have painfully gathered for field or garden.
The sun in the daytime is extremely hot, yet the
TITICACA 103
difference in temperature between sun and shade is
excessive. Furthermore, the winds at night are very
damp; the cold is intensely penetrating. Fuel is
exceedingly scarce, there is barely enough for cook-
ing purposes, and none for artificial heat.
Food is hard to get. Few crops can be grown at
12,500 feet. Some barley is raised, but the soil is
lacking in nitrogen. The principal crop is the bitter
v/hite potato, which, after being frozen and dried,
becomes the insipid chuno, chief reliance of the
poorer families. The Inca system of bringing guano
from the islands of the Pacific coast has long since
been abandoned. There is no money to pay for
modern fertilizers. Consequently, crops are poor.
On Titicaca Island I saw native women, who had
just harvested their maize, engaged in shucking and
drying ears of corn which varied in length from one
to three inches. To be sure this miniature corn has
the advantage of maturing in sixty days, but good
soil and fertilizers would double its size and pro-
ductiveness.
Naturally these Indians always feel themselves
at the mercy of the elements. Either a long rainy
season or a drought may cause acute hunger and
extreme suffering. Consequently, one must not
blame the Bolivian or Peruvian Highlander if he
frequently appears to be sullen and morose. On the
other hand, one ought not to praise Samoans for be-
ing happy, hospitable, and light-hearted. Those for-
tunate Polynesians are surrounded by warm waters
in which they can always enjoy a swim, trees from
which delicious food can always be obtained, and
I04 INCA LAND
cocoanuts from which coohng drinks are secured
without cost. Who could not develop cheerfulness
under such conditions?
On the small island, Koati, some of the Inca stone-
work is remarkably good, and has several unusual
features, such as the elaboration of the large, re-
entrant, ceremonial niches formed by step-topped
arches, one within the other. Small ornamental
niches are used to break the space between these
recesses and the upper corners of the whole rec-
tangle containing them. Also unusual are the niches
between the doorways, made in the form of an
elaborate quadrate cross. It might seem at first
glance as though this feature showed Spanish in-
fluence, since a Papal cross is created by the shadow
cast in the intervening recessed courses within their
design. As a matter of fact, the cross nowy quad-
rant is a natural outcome of using for ornamental
purposes the step-shaped design, both erect and
inverted. All over the land of the Incas one finds
flights of steps or terraces used repeatedly for orna-
mental or ceremonial purposes. Some stairs are
large enough to be used by man; others are in
miniature. Frequently the steps were cut into the
sacred boulders consecrated to ancestor worship.
It was easy for an Inca architect, accustomed to the
stairway motif, to have conceived these curious
doorways on Koati and also the cross-like niches
between them, even if he had never seen any repre-
sentation of a Papal cross, or a cross nowy quadrant.
My friend, Mr. Bancel La Farge, has also suggested
a striking resemblance which the sedilia-like niches
TITICACA 105
bear to Arabic or Moorish architecture, as shown,
for instance, in the Court of the Lions in the Alham-
bra. The step-topped arch is distinctly Oriental in
form, yet flights of steps or terraces are also thor-
oughly Incaic.
The principal structure on Koati was built around
three sides of a small plaza, constructed on an arti-
ficial terrace in a slight depression on the eastern
side of the island. The fourth side is open and
affords a magnificent view of the lake and the won-
derful snow-covered Cordillera Real, 200 miles long
and nowhere less than 17,000 feet high. This range
of lofty snow-peaks of surpassing beauty culminates
in Mt. Sorata, 21,520 feet high. To the worshipers
of the sun and moon, who came to the sacred islands
for some of their most elaborate religious ceremo-
nies, the sight of those heavenly luminaries, rising
over the majestic snow mountains, their glories
reflected in the shining waters of the lake, must have
been a sublime spectacle. On such occasions the
little plaza would indeed have been worth seeing.
We may imagine the gayly caparisoned Incas, their
faces lit up by the colors of "rosy-fingered dawn,
daughter of the morning," their ceremonial forma-
tion sharply outlined against the high, decorated
walls of the buildings behind them. Perhaps the
rulers and high priests had special stations in front
of the large, step-topped niches. One may be sure
that a people who were fond of bright colors, who
were able to manufacture exquisite textiles, and who
loved to decorate their garments with spangles and
disks of beaten gold, would have lost no opportunity
io6 INCA LAND
for making the ancient ceremonies truly resplendent.
On the peninsula of Copacabana, opposite the
sacred islands, a great annual pageant is still staged
every August. Although at present connected with
a pious pilgrimage to the shrine of the miraculous
image of the "Virgin of Copacabana," this vivid
spectacle, the most celebrated fair in all South
America, has its origin in the dim past. It comes
after the maize is harvested and corresponds to our
Thanksgiving festival. The scene is laid in the plaza
in front of a large, bizarre church. During the first
ten days in August there are gathered here thou-
sands of the mountain folk from far and near. Every-
thing dear to the heart of the Aymara Indian is
offered for sale, including quantities of his favor-
ite beverages. Traders, usually women, sit in long
rows on blankets laid on the cobblestone pavement.
Some of them are protected from the sun by primi-
tive umbrellas, consisting of a square cotton sheet
stretched over a bamboo frame. In one row are those
traders who sell parched and popped corn; in an-
other those who deal in sandals and shoes, the simple
gear of the humblest wayfarer and the elaborately
decorated high-laced boots affected by the wealthy
Chola women of La Paz. In another row are the
dealers in Indian blankets; still another is devoted
to such trinkets as one might expect to find in a
" needle-and-thread " shop at home. There are
stolid Aymara peddlers with scores of bamboo flutes
varying in size from a piccolo to a bassoon ; the hat
merchants, with piles of freshly made native felts,
warranted to last for at least a year; and vendors of
TITICACA 107
aniline dyes. The fabrics which have come to us
from Inca times are colored with beautifully soft
vegetable dyes. Among Inca ruins one may find
small stone mortars, in which the primitive pig-
ments were ground and mixed with infinite care.
Although the modern Indian still prefers the product
of hand looms, he has been quick to adopt the harsh
aniline dyes, which are not only easier to secure,
but produce more striking results.
As a citizen of Connecticut it gave me quite a
start to see, carelessly exposed to the weather on
the rough cobblestones of the plaza, bright new
hardware from New Haven and New Britain —
locks, keys, spring scales, bolts, screw eyes, hooks,
and other "wooden nutmegs."
At the tables of the "money-changers," just out-
side of the sacred enclosure, are the real money-
makers, who give nothing for something. Thimble-
riggers and three-card-monte-men do a brisk busi-
ness and stand ready to fleece the guileless native or
the unsuspecting foreigner. The operators may wear
ragged ponchos and appear to be incapable of deep
designs, but they know all the tricks of the trade!
The most striking feature of the fair is the presence
of various Aymara secret societies, whose members,
wearing repulsive masks, are clad in the most extra-
ordinary costumes which can be invented by primi-
tive imaginations. Each society has its own uni-
form, made up of tinsels and figured satins, tin-foil,
gold and silver leaf, gaudy textiles, magnificent
epaulets bearing large golden stars on a background
of silver decorated with glittering gems of colored
io8 INCA LAND
glass; tinted "ostrich" plumes of many colors
sticking straight up eighteen inches above the heads
of their wearers, gaudy ribbons, beruffled bodices,
puffed sleeves, and slashed trunks. Some of these
strange costumes are actually reminiscent of the
sixteenth century. The wearers are provided with
flutes, whistles, cymbals, flageolets, snare drums, and
rattles, or other noise-makers. The result is an inde-
scribable hubbub ; a garish human kaleidoscope, ac-
companied by fiendish clamor and unmusical noises
which fairly outstrip a dozen jazz bands. It is bed-
lam let loose, a scene of wild uproar and confusion.
The members of one group were dressed to repre-
sent female angels, their heads tightly turbaned so
as to bear the maximum number of tall, waving, va-
riegated plumes. On their backs were gaudy wings
resembling the butterflies of children's pantomimes.
Many wore colored goggles. They marched sol-
emnly around the plaza, playing on bamboo flageo-
lets, their plaintive tunes drowned in the din of
big bass drums and blatant trumpets. In an eddy in
the seething crowd was a placid-faced Aymara, be-
decked in the most tawdry manner with gewgaws
from Birmingham or Manchester, sedately playing
a melancholy tune on a rustic syrinx or Pan's pipe,
charmingly made from little tubes of bamboo from
eastern Bolivia.
At the close of the festival, on a Sunday afternoon,
the costumes disappear and there occurs a bull-
baiting. Strong temporary barriers are erected at
the corners of the plaza; householders bar their
doors. A riotous crowd, composed of hundreds of
TITICACA 109
pleasure-seekers, well fortified with Dutch courage,
gathers for the fray. All are ready to run helter-
skelter in every direction should the bull take it into
his head to charge toward them. It is not a bull-
fight. There are no picadors, armed with lances to
prick the bull to madness; no banderilleros, with
barbed darts ; no heroic matador, ready with shining
blade to give a mad and weary bull the coup de
grace. Here all is fun and frolic. To be sure, the bull
is duly annoyed by boastful boys or drunken Ay-
maras, who prod him with sticks and shake bright
ponchos in his face until he dashes after his torment-
ors and causes a mighty scattering of some specta-
tors, amid shrieks of delight from everybody else.
When one animal gets tired, another is brought on.
There is no chance of a bull being wounded or seri-
ously hurt. At the time of our visit the only animal
who seemed at all anxious to do real damage was let
alone. He showed no disposition to charge at ran-
dom into the crowds. The spectators surrounded
the plaza so thickly that he could not distinguish
any one particular enemy on whom to vent his rage.
He galloped madly after any individual who crossed
the plaza. Five or six bulls were let loose during the
excitement, but no harm was done, and every one
had an uproariously good time.
Such is the spectacle of Copacabana, a mixture
of business and pleasure, pagan and Christian, Spain
and Titicaca. Bedlam is not pleasant to one's ears;
yet to see the staid mountain herdsmen, attired in
plumes, petticoats, epaulets, and goggles, blowing
mightily with puffed-out lips on bamboo flageolets,
is worth a long journey.
CHAPTER VI
THE VILCANOTA COUNTRY AND THE PERUVIAN
HIGHLANDERS
IN the northernmost part of the Titicaca Basin are
the grassy foothills of the Cordillera Vilcanota,
where large herds of alpacas thrive on the sweet,
tender pasturage. Santa Rosa is the principal town.
Here wool-buyers come to bid for the clip. The high
prices which alpaca fleece commands have brought
prosperity. Excellent blankets, renowned in south-
ern Peru for their weight and texture, are made
here on hand looms. Notwithstanding the altitude
— nearly as great as the top of Pike's Peak — the
stocky inhabitants of Santa Rosa are hardy, vig-
orous, and energetic. Ricardo Charaja, the best
Quichua assistant we ever had, came from Santa
Rosa. Nearly all the citizens are of pure Indian
stock.
They own many fine llamas. There is abundant
pasturage and the llamas are well cared for by the
Indians, who become personally attached to their
flocks and are loath to part with any of the indi-
viduals. Once I attempted through a Cuzco ac-
quaintance to secure the skin and skeleton of a fine
llama for the Yale Museum. My friend was favor-
ably known and spoke the Quichua language flu-
ently. He offered a good price and obtained from
various llama owners promises to bring the hide and
THE VILCANOTA COUNTRY in
bones of one of their "camels" for shipment; but
they never did. Apparently they regarded it as
unlucky to kill a llama, and none happened to die
at the right time. The llamas never show affection
for their masters, as horses often do. On the other
hand I have never seen a llama kick or bite at his
owner.
The llama was the only beast of burden known in
either North or South America before Columbus.
It was found by the Spaniards in all parts of Inca
Land. Its small two- toed feet, with their rough
pads, enable it to walk easily on slopes too rough or
steep for even a nimble-footed, mountain-bred mule.
It has the reputation of being an unpleasant pet,
due to its ability to sneeze or spit for a considerable
distance a small quantity of acrid saliva. When I
was in college Barnum's Circus came to town. The
menagerie included a dozen llamas, whose super-
cilious expression, inoffensive looks, and small size
— they are only three feet high at the shoulder —
tempted some little urchins to tease them. When
the llamas felt that the time had come for reprisals,
their aim was straight and the result a precipitate
retreat. Their tormentors, howling and rubbing
their eyes, had to run home and wash their faces.
Curiously enough, in the two years which I have
spent in the Peruvian highlands I have never seen a
llama so attack a single human being. On the other
hand, when I was in Santa Rosa in 191 5 some one
had a tame vicufia which was perfectly willing to
sneeze straight at any stranger who came within
twenty feet of it, even if one's motive was nothing
112 INCA LAND
more annoying than scientific curiosity. The vicuna
is the smallest American "camel," yet its long,
slender neck, small head, long legs, and small body,
from which hangs long, feathery fleece, make it look
more like an ostrich than a camel.
In the churchyard of Santa Rosa are two or three
gnarled trees which have been carefully preserved
for centuries as objects of respect and veneration.
Some travelers have thought that 14,000 feet is
above the tree line, but the presence of these trees
at Santa Rosa would seem to show that the use of
the words "tree line" is a misnomer in the Andes.
Mr. Cook believes that the Peruvian plateau, with
the exception of the coastal deserts, was once well
covered with forests. When man first came into the
Andes, everything except rocky ledges, snow fields,
and glaciers was covered with forest growth. Al-
though many districts are now entirely treeless, Mr.
Cook found that the conditions of light, heat, and
moisture, even at the highest elevations, are suffi-
cient to support the growth of trees; also that there
is ample fertility of soil. His theories are well sub-
stantiated by several isolated tracts of forests which
I found growing alongside of glaciers at very high
elevations. One forest in particular, on the slopes of
Mt. Soiroccocha, has been accurately determined
by Mr. Bumstead to be over 15,000 feet above sea
level. It is cut off from the inhabited valley by rock
falls and precipices, so it has not been available for
fuel. Virgin forests are not known to exist In the
Peruvian highlands on any lands which could have
been cultivated. A certain amount of natural re-
THE VILCANOTA COUNTRY 113
forestation with native trees is taking place on
abandoned agricultural terraces in some of the high
valleys. Although these trees belong to many differ-
ent species and families, Mr. Cook found that they
all have this striking peculiarity — when cut down
they sprout readily from the stumps and are able to
survive repeated pollarding ; remarkable evidence of
the fact that the primeval forests of Peru were long
ago cut down for fuel or burned over for agriculture.
Near the Santa Rosa trees is a tall bell-tower.
The sight of a picturesque belfry with four or five
bells of different sizes hanging each in its respective
window makes a strong appeal. It is quite otherwise
on Sunday mornings when these same bells, "out of
tune with themselves," or actually cracked, are all
rung at the same time. The resulting clangor and
din is unforgettable. I presume the Chinese would
say it was intended to drive away the devils — and
surely such noise must be " thoroughly uncongen-
ial even to the most irreclaimable devil," as Lord
Frederick Hamilton said of the Canton practices.
Church bells in the United States and England are
usually sweet-toned and intended to invite the
hearer to come to service, or else they ring out in
joyous peals to announce some festive occasion.
There is nothing inviting or joyous about the bells
in southern Peru. Once in a while one may hear a
bell of deep, sweet tone, like that of the great bell in
Cuzco, which is tolled when the last sacrament is
being administered to a dying Christian; but the
general idea of bell-ringers in this part of the world
seems to be to make the greatest possible amount
114 INCA LAND
of racket and clamor. On popular saints' days this
is accompanied by firecrackers, aerial bombs, and
other noise-making devices which again remind one
of Chinese folkways. Perhaps it is merely that fun-
damental fondness for making a noise which is found
in all healthy children.
On Sunday afternoon the plaza of Santa Rosa was
well filled with Quichua holiday-makers, many of
whom had been imbibing freely of chicha, a mild
native brew usually made from ripe corn. The
crowd was remarkably good-natured and given to an
unusual amount of laughter and gayety. For them
Sunday is truly a day of rest, recreation, and so-
ciability. On week days, most of them, even the
smaller boys, are off on the mountain pastures,
watching the herds whose wool brings prosperity
to Santa Rosa. One sometimes finds the mountain
Indians on Sunday afternoon sodden, thoroughly
soaked with chicha, and inclined to resent the pres-
ence of inquisitive strangers; not so these good folk
of Santa Rosa.
To be sure, the female vendors of eggs, potatoes,
peppers, and sundry native vegetables, squatting
in two long rows on the plaza, did not enjoy being
photographed, but the men and boys crowded
eagerly forward, very much interested in my endeav-
ors. Some of the Indian alcaldes, local magistrates
elected yearly to serve as the responsible officials for
villages or tribal precincts, were very helpful and,
armed with their large, silver-mounted staffs of
office, tried to bring the shy, retiring women of the
market-place to stand in a frightened, disgruntled,
INDIAN ALCALDES AT SANTA ROSA
NATIVE DRUGGISTS IN THE PLAZA OF SICUANI
THE VILCANOTA COUNTRY 115
barefooted group before the camera. The women
were dressed in the customary tight bodices, heavy
woolen skirts, and voluminous petticoats of the
plateau. Over their shoulders were pinned heavy
woolen shawls, woven on hand looms. On their
heads were reversible "pancake" hats made of
straw, covered on the wet-weather side with coarse
woolen stuff and on the fair-weather side with tinsel
and velveteen. In accordance with local custom,
tassels and fringes hung down on both sides. It is
said that the first Inca ordered the dresses of each
village to be different, so that his officials might
know to which tribe an Indian belonged. It was
only with great difficulty and by the combined
efforts of a good-natured priest, the gobernador or
mayor, and the alcaldes that a dozen very reluctant
females were finally persuaded to face the camera.
The expression of their faces was very eloquent.
Some were highly indignant, others looked foolish or
supercilious, two or three were thoroughly fright-
ened, not knowing what evil might befall them next.
Not one gave any evidence of enjoying it or taking
the matter as a good joke, although that was the
attitude assumed by all their male acquaintances.
In fact, some of the men were so anxious to have
their pictures taken that they followed us about
and posed on the edge of every group.
Men and boys all wore knitted woolen caps, with
ear flaps, which they seldom remove either day or
night. On top of these were large felt hats, turned
up in front so as to give a bold aspect to their husky
wearers. Over their shoulders were heavy woolen
ii6 INCA LAND
ponchos, decorated with bright stripes. Their trou-
sers end abruptly halfway between knee and ankle,
a convenient style for herdsmen who have to walk
in the long, dewy grasses of the plateau. These
"high-water" pantaloons do not look badly when
worn with sandals, as Is the usual custom ; but since
this was Sunday all the well-to-do men had put on
European boots, which did not come up to the bot-
tom of their trousers and produced a singular effect,
hardly likely to become fashionable.
The prosperity of the town was also shown by
corrugated iron roofs. Far less picturesque than
thatch or tile, they require less attention and give
greater satisfaction during the rainy season. They
can also be securely bolted to the rafters. On this
wind-swept plateau we frequently noticed that a
thatched roof was held in place by ropes passed
over the house and weights resting on the roof.
Sometimes to the peak of a gable are fastened
crosses, tiny flags, or the skulls of animals — proba-
bly to avert the Evil Eye or bring good luck.
Horseshoes do not seem to be in demand. Horses*
skulls, however, are deemed very efficacious.
On the rim of the Titicaca Basin Is La Raya.
The watershed is so level that it Is almost Impossible
to say whether any particular raindrop will even-
tually find itself in Lake Titicaca or in the Atlantic
Ocean. The water from a spring near the railroad
station of Araranca flows definitely to the north.
This spring may be said to be one of the sources of
the Urubamba River, an Important affluent of the
Ucayall and also of the Amazon, but I never have
THE VILCANOTA COUNTRY 117
heard it referred to as "the source of the Amazon"
except by an adventurous lecturer, Captain Blank,
whose moving picture entertainment bore the allur-
ing title, "From the Source to the Mouth of the
Amazon." As most of his pictures of wild animals
"in the jungle" looked as though they were taken
in the zoological gardens at Para, and the exciting
tragedies of his canoe trip were actually staged near
a friendly hacienda at Santa Ana, less than a week's
journey from Cuzco, it is perhaps unnecessary to
censure him for giving this particular little spring
such a pretentious title.
The Urubamba River is known by various names
to the people who live on its banks. The upper
portion is sometimes spoken of as the Vilcanota, a
term which applies to a lake as well as to the snow-
covered peaks of the cordillera in this vicinity.
The lower portion was called by the Incas the
Uilca or the Uilcamayu.
Near the water-parting of La Raya I noticed the
remains of an interesting wall which may have
served centuries ago to divide the Incas of Cuzco
from the Collas or warlike tribes of the Titicaca
Basin. In places the wall has been kept in repair by
the owners of grazing lands, but most of it can be
but dimly traced across the valley and up the neigh-
boring slopes to the cliffs of the Cordillera Vilcanota.
It was built of rough stones. Near the historic wall
are the ruins of ancient houses, possibly once occu-
pied by an Inca garrison. I observed no ashlars
among the ruins nor any evidence of careful ma-
sonry. It seems to me likely that it was a hastily
ii8 INCA LAND
thrown-up fortification serving for a single military
campaign, rather than any permanent affair like the
Roman wall of North Britain or the Great Wall of
China. We know from tradition that war was fre-
quently waged between the peoples of the Titicaca
Basin and those of the Urubamba and Cuzco val-
leys. It is possible that this is a relic of one of those
wars.
On the other hand, it may be much older than the
Incas. Montesinos,^ one of the best early histori-
ans, tells us of Titu Yupanqui, Pachacuti VI, sixty-
second of the Peruvian Amautas, rulers who long
preceded the Incas. Against Pachacuti VI there
came (about 800 A.D.) large hordes of fierce sol-
diers from the south and east, laying waste fields
and capturing cities and towns ; evidently barbarian
migrations which appear to have continued for some
time. During these wars the ancient civilization,
which had been built up with so much care and diffi-
' Fernando Montesinos, an ecclesiastical lawyer of the seventeenth
century, appears to have gone to Peru in 1629 as the follower of that
well-known viceroy, the Count of Chinchon, whose wife having
contracted malaria was cured by the use of Peruvian bark or quinine
and was instrumental in the introduction of this medicine into
Europe, a fact which has been commemorated in the botanical name
of the genus cinchona. Montesinos was well educated and appears to
have given himself over entirely to historical research. He traveled
extensively in Peru and wrote several books. His history of the
Incas was spoiled by the introduction, in which, as might have been
expected of an orthodox lawyer, he contended that Peru was peopled
under the leadership of Ophir, the great-grandson of Noah ! Never-
theless, one finds his work to be of great value and the late Sir
Clements Markham, foremost of English students of Peruvian
archeology, was inclined to place considerable credence in his state-
ments. His account of pre-Hispanic Peru has recently been edited
for the Hakluyt Society by Mr. Philip A. Means of Harvard Uni-
versity.
THE VILCANOTA COUNTRY 119
culty during the preceding twenty centuries, was
seriously threatened. Pachacuti VI, more rehgious
than wariike, ruler of a people whose great achieve-
ments had been agricultural rather than military,
was frightened by his soothsayers and priests; they
told him of many bad omens. Instead of inducing
him to follow a policy of military preparedness, he
was urged to make sacrifices to the deities. Never-
theless he ordered his captains to fortify the strate-
gic points and make preparations for defense. The
invaders may have come from Argentina. It is
possible that they were spurred on by hunger and
famine caused by the gradual exhaustion of forested
areas and the subsequent spread of untillable grass-
lands on the great pampas. Montesinos indicates
that many of the people who came up into the high-
lands at that time were seeking arable lands for
their crops and were "fleeing from a race of giants"
— possibly Patagonians or Araucanians — who had
expelled them from their own lands. On their
journey they had passed over plains, swamps, and
jungles. It is obvious that a great readjustment of
the aborigines was in progress. The governors of the
districts through which these hordes passed were
not able to summon enough strength to resist them.
Pachacuti VI assembled the larger part of his army
near the pass of La Raya and awaited the approach
of the enemy. If the accounts given in Montesinos
are true, this wall near La Raya may have been
built about iioo years ago, by the chiefs who were
told to "fortify the strategic points."
Certainly the pass of La Raya, long the gateway
120 INCA LAND
from the Titicaca Basin to the important cities and
towns of the Urubamba Basin, was the key to the
situation. It is probable that Pachacuti VI drew up
his army behind this wall. His men were undoubt-
edly armed with slings, the weapon most familiar
to the highland shepherds. The invaders, however,
carried bows and arrows, more effective arms,
swifter, more difficult to see, less easy to dodge. As
Pachacuti VI was carried over the field of battle on a
golden stretcher, encouraging his men, he was killed
by an arrow. His army was routed. Montesinos
states that only five hundred escaped. Leaving be-
hind their wounded, they fled to "Tampu-tocco,"
a healthy place where there was a cave, in which
they hid the precious body of their ruler. Most
writers believe this to be at Paccaritampu where
there are caves under an interesting carved rock.
There is no place in Peru to-day which still bears the
name of Tampu-tocco. To try and identify it with
some of the ruins which do exist, and whose modern
names are not found in the early Spanish writers,
has been one of the principal objects of my expedi-
tions to Peru, as will be described in subsequent
chapters.
Near the watershed of La Raya we saw great
flocks of sheep and alpacas, numerous corrals, and
the thatched-roofed huts of herdsmen. The Quichua
women are never idle. One often sees them engaged
in the manufacture of textiles — shawls, girdles,
ponchos, and blankets — on hand looms fastened to
stakes driven into the ground. When tending flocks
or walking along the road they are always winding
LAYING DOWN THE WARP FOR A BLANKET ; NEAR THE PASS
OF LA RAY A
PLOWING A POTATO-FIELD AT LA RAYA
THE VILCANOTA COUNTRY 121
or spinning yarn. Even the men and older children
are sometimes thus engaged. The younger children,
used as shepherds as soon as they reach the age of
six or seven, are rarely expected to do much except
watch their charges. Some of them were accom-
panied by long-haired suncca shepherd dogs, as large
as Airedales, but very cowardly, given to barking
and slinking away. It is claimed that the sunccas,
as well as two other varieties, were domesticated by
the Incas. None of them showed any desire to make
the acquaintance of "Checkers," my faithful Aire-
dale. Their masters, however, were always inter-
ested to see that "Checkers" could understand
English. They had never seen a dog that could
understand anything but Quichua!
On the hillside near La Raya, Mr. Cook, Mr. Gil-
bert, and I visited a healthy potato field at an ele-
vation of 14,500 feet, a record altitude for potatoes.
When commencing to plough or spade a potato field
on the high slopes near here, it is the custom of the
Indians to mark it off into squares, by "furrows"
about fifteen feet apart. The Quichuas commence
their task soon after daybreak. Due to the absence
of artificial lighting and the discomfort of rising in
the bitter cold before dawn, their wives do not pre-
pare breakfast before ten o'clock, at which time it
is either brought from home in covered earthenware
vessels or cooked in the open fields near where the
men are working.
We came across one energetic landowner super-
vising a score or more of Indians who were engaged
in "ploughing" a potato field. Although he was
122 INCA LAND
dressed in European garb and was evidently a man
of means and intelligence, and near the railroad,
there were no modern implements in sight. We
found that it is difficult to get Indians to use any
except the implements of their ancestors. The pro-
cess of "ploughing" this field was undoubtedly one
that had been used for centuries, probably long
before the Spanish Conquest. The men, working in
unison and in a long row, each armed with a primi-
tive spade or "foot plough," to the handle of which
footholds were lashed, would, at a signal, leap for-
ward with a shout and plunge their spades into the
turf. Facing each pair of men was a girl or woman
whose duty it was to turn the clods over by hand.
The men had taken off their ponchos, so as to se-
cure greater freedom of action, but the women were
fully clothed as usual, modesty seeming to require
them even to keep heavy shawls over their shoul-
ders. Although the work was hard and painful, the
toil was lightened by the joyous contact of com-
munity activity. Every one worked with a will.
There appeared to be a keen desire among the
workers to keep up with the procession. Those who
fell behind were subjected to good-natured teas-
ing. Community work is sometimes pleasant, even
though it appears to require a strong directing hand.
The "boss" was right there. Such practices would
never suit those who love independence.
In the centuries of Inca domination there was
little opportunity for individual effort. Private
property was not understood. Everything belonged
to the government. The crops were taken by the
THE VILCANOTA COUNTRY 123
priests, the Incas and the nobles. The people were
not as unhappy as we should be. One seldom had to
labor alone. Everything was done in common.
When it was time to cultivate the fields or to harvest
the crops, the laborers were ordered by the Incas to
go forth in huge family parties. They lessened the
hardships of farm labor by village gossip and choral
singing, interspersed at regular intervals with rest
periods, in which quantities of chicha quenched the
thirst and cheered the mind.
Habits of community work are still shown in the
Andes. One often sees a score or more of Indians
carrying huge bundles of sheaves of wheat or barley.
I have found a dozen yoke of oxen, each a few yards
from the other in a parallel line, engaged in plough-
ing synchronously small portions of a large field.
Although the landlords frequently visit Lima and
sometimes go to Paris and New York, where they
purchase for their own use the products of modem
invention, the fields are still cultivated in the fashion
introduced three centuries ago by the conquistador es,
who brought the first draft animals and the primi-
tive pointed plough of the ancient Mediterranean.
Crops at La Raya are not confined to potatoes.
Another food plant, almost unknown to Europeans,
even those who live in Lima, is canihua, a kind of
pigweed. It was being harvested at the time of our
visit in April. The threshing floor for canihua is a
large blanket laid on the ground. On top of this the
stalks are placed and the flail applied, the blanket
serving to prevent the small grayish seeds from
escaping. The entire process uses nothing of Eu-
124 INCA LAND
ropean origin and has probably not changed for
centuries.
We noticed also quinoa and even barley growing at
an elevation of 14,000 feet. Quinoa is another spe-
cies of pigweed. It often attains a height of three
to four feet. There are several varieties. The white-
seeded variety, after being boiled, may be fairly com-
pared with oatmeal. Mr. Cook actually preferred it
to the Scotch article, both for taste and texture.
The seeds retain their form after being cooked and
"do not appear so slimy as oatmeal." Other va-
rieties of quinoa are bitter and have to be boiled sev-
eral times, the water being frequently changed. The
growing quinoa presents an attractive appearance;
its leaves assume many colors.
As we went down the valley the evidences of
extensive cultivation, both ancient and modern,
steadily increased. Great numbers of old terraces
were to be seen. There were many fields of wheat,
some of them growing high up on the mountain side
in what are called temporales, where, owing to the
steep slope, there is little effort at tillage or cultiva-
tion, the planter trusting to luck to get some kind of
a crop in reward for very little effort. On April 14th,
just above Sicuani, we saw fields where habas beans
had been gathered and the dried stalks piled in
little stacks. At Occobamba, or the pampa where
oca grows, we found fields of that useful tuber, just
now ripening. Near by were little thatched shelters,
erected for the temporary use of night watchmen
during the harvest season.
The Peruvian highlanders whom we met by the
THE VILCANOTA COUNTRY 125
roadside were different in feature, attitude, and
clothing from those of the Titicaca Basin or even of
Santa Rosa, which is not far away. They were
typical Quichuas — peaceful agriculturists — usu-
ally spinning wool on the little hand spindles which
have been used in the Andes from time immemorial.
Their huts are built of adobe, the roofs thatched
with coarse grass.
The Quichuas are brown in color. Their hair is
straight and black. Gray hair is seldom seen. It is
the custom among the men in certain localities to
wear their hair long and braided. Beards are sparse
or lacking. Bald heads are very rare. Teeth seem to
be more enduring than with us. Throughout the
Andes the frequency of well-preserved teeth was
everywhere noteworthy except on sugar plantations,
where there is opportunity to indulge freely in crude
brown sugar nibbled from cakes or mixed with
parched corn and eaten as a travel ration.
The Quichua face is broad and short. Its breadth
is nearly the same as the Eskimo. Freckles are not
common and appear to be limited to face and arms,
in the few cases in which they were observed. On
the other hand, a large proportion of the Indians are
pock-marked and show the effects of living in a
country which is "free from medical tyranny."
There is no compulsory vaccination.
One hardly ever sees a fat Quichua. It is difficult
to tell whether this is a racial characteristic or due
rather to the lack of fat-producing foods in their diet.
Although the Peruvian highlander has made the
best use he could of the llama, he was never able to
126 INCA LAND
develop its slender legs and weak back sufficiently
to use it for loads weighing more than eighty or a
hundred pounds. Consequently, for the carrying of
really heavy burdens he had to depend on himself.
As a result, it is not surprising to learn from Dr.
Ferris that while his arms are poorly developed, his
shoulders are broader, his back muscles stronger,
and the calves of his legs larger and more powerful
than those of almost any other race.
The Quichuas are fond of shaking hands. When a
visiting Indian joins a group he nearly always goes
through the gentle ceremony with each person in
turn. I do not know whether this was introduced by
the Spaniards or comes down from prehistoric times.
In any event, this handshaking in no way resembles
the hearty clasp familiar to undergraduates at the
beginning of the college year. As a matter of fact
the Quichua handshake is extremely fishy and lacks
cordiality. In testing the hand grip of the Quichuas
by a dynamometer our surgeons found that the
muscles of the forearm were poorly developed in the
Quichua and the maximum grip was weak in both
sexes, the average for the man being only about half
of that found among American white adults of
sedentary habits.
Dr. Ales Hrdlicka believes that the aboriginal races
of North and South America were of the same stock.
The wide differences in physiognomy observable
among the different tribes in North and South
America are perhaps due to their environmental
history during the past 10,000 or 20,000 years.
Mr. Frank Chapman, of the American Museum of
THE VILCANOTA COUNTRY 127
Natural History, has pointed out the interesting
biological fact that animals and birds found at sea
level in the cold regions of Tierra del Fuego, while
not found at sea level in Peru, do exist at very high
altitudes, where the climate is similar to that with
which they are acquainted. Similarly, it is interest-
ing to learn that the inhabitants of the cold, lofty
regions of southern Peru, living in towns and villages
at altitudes of from 9000 to 14,000 feet above the
sea, have physical peculiarities closely resembling
those living at sea level in Tierra del Fuego, Alaska,
and Labrador. Dr. Ferris says the Labrador Eskimo
and the Quichua constitute the two "best-known
short-stature races on the American continent."
So far as we could learn by questions and ob-
servation, about one quarter of the Quichuas are
childless. In families which have children the aver-
age number is three or four. Large families are not
common, although we generally learned that the
living children in a family usually represented less
than half of those which had been born. Infant
mortality is very great. The proper feeding of chil-
dren is not understood and it is a marvel how any of
them manage to grow up at all.
Coughs and bronchial trouble are very common
among the Indians. In fact, the most common afflic-
tions of the tableland are those of the throat and
lungs. Pneumonia is the most serious and most to
be dreaded of all local diseases. It is really terrify-
ing. Due to the rarity of the air and relative scar-
city of oxygen, pneumonia is usually fatal at 8000
feet and is uniformly so at 11,000 feet. Patients
128 INCA LAND
are frequently ill only twenty-four hours. Tubercu-
losis is fairly common, its prevalence undoubtedly
caused by the living conditions practiced among the
highlanders, who are unwilling to sleep in a room
which is not tightly closed and protected against
any possible intrusion of fresh air. In the warmer
valleys, where bodily comfort has led the natives to
use huts of thatch and open reeds, instead of the
air-tight hovels of the cold, bleak plateau, tubercu-
losis is seldom seen. Of course, there are no "boards
of health," nor are the people bothered by being
obliged to conform to any sanitary regulations.
Water supplies are so often contaminated that the
people have learned to avoid drinking it as far as
possible. Instead, they eat quantities of soup.
In the market-place of Sicuani, the largest town
in the valley, and the border-line between the
potato-growing uplands and lowland maize fields,
we attended the famous Sunday market. Many
native "druggists" were present. Their stock usu-
ally consisted of "medicines," whose efficacy was
learned by the Incas. There were forty or fifty
kinds of simples and curiosities, cure-alls, and spe-
cifics. Fully half were reported to me as being "use-
ful against fresh air" or the evil effects of drafts.
The "medicines" included such minerals as iron ore
and sulphur; such vegetables as dried seeds, roots,
and the leaves of plants domesticated hundreds of
years ago by the Incas or gathered in the tropical
jungles of the lower Urubamba Valley; and such
animals as starfish brought from the Pacific Ocean.
Some of them were really useful herbs, while others
THE VILCANOTA COUNTRY 129
have only a psychopathic effect on the patient.
Each medicine was in an attractive httle parti-
colored woolen bag. The bags, differing in design
and color, woven on miniature hand looms, were
arranged side by side on the ground, the upper parts
turned over and rolled down so as to disclose the
contents.
Not many miles below Sicuani, at a place called
Racche, are the remarkable ruins of the so-called
Temple of Viracocha, described by Squier. At first
sight Racche looks as though there were here a row
of nine or ten lofty adobe piers, forty or fifty feet
high! Closer inspection, however, shows them all
to be parts of the central wall of a great temple.
The wall is pierced with large doors and the spaces
between the doors are broken by niches, narrower
at the top than at the bottom. There are small holes
in the doorposts for bar-holds. The base of the
great wall is about five feet thick and is of stone.
The ashlars are beautifully cut and, while not
rectangular, are roughly squared and fitted together
with most exquisite care, so as to insure their mak-
ing a very firm foundation. Their surface is most
attractive, but, strange to say, there is unmistak-
able evidence that the builders did not wish the
stonework to show. This surface was at one time
plastered with clay, a very significant fact. The
builders wanted the wall to seem to be built entirely
of adobe, yet, had the great clay wall rested on the
ground, floods and erosion might have succeeded in
undermining it. Instead, it rests securely on a
beautifully built foundation of solid masonry. Even
130 INCA LAND
so, the great wall does not stand absolutely true, but
leans slightly to the westward. The wall also seems
to be less weathered on the west side. Probably the
prevailing or strongest wind is from the east.
An interesting feature of the ruins is a round
column about twenty feet high — a very rare occur-
rence in Inca architecture. It also is of adobe, on a
stone foundation. There is only one column now
standing. In Squier's day the remains of others were
to be seen, but I could find no evidences of them.
There was probably a double row of these columns
to support the stringers and tiebeams of the roof.
Apparently one end of a tiebeam rested on the cir-
cular column and the other end was embedded In the
main wall. The holes where the tiebeams entered
the wall have stone lintels.
Near the ruins of the great temple are those of
other buildings, also unique, so far as I know. The
base of the party wall, decorated with large niches,
is of cut ashlars carefully laid ; the middle course is
of adobe, while the upper third is of rough, uncut
stones. It looks very odd now but was originally
covered with fine clay or stucco. In several cases the
plastered walls are still standing, in fairly good con-
dition, particularly where they have been sheltered
from the weather.
The chief marvel of Racche, however, is the great
adobe wall of the temple, which is nearly fifty feet
high. It is slowly disintegrating, as might be ex-
pected. The wonder is that it should have stood so
long in a rainy region without any roof or protect-
ing cover. It is incredible that for at least five
THE VILCANOTA COUNTRY 131
hundred years a wall of sun-dried clay should have
been able to defy severe rainstorms. The lintels,
made of hard-wood timbers and partially embedded
in the wall, are all gone; yet the adobe remains. It
would be very interesting to find out whether the
water of the springs near the temple contains lime.
If so this might have furnished natural calcareous
cement in sufficient quantity to give the clay a par-
ticularly tenacious quality, able to resist weathering.
The factors which have caused this extraordinary
adobe wall to withstand the weather in such an
exposed position for so many centuries, notwith-
standing the heavy rains of each summer season
from December to March, are worthy of further
study.
It has been claimed that this temple was devoted
to the worship of Viracocha, a great deity, the Jove
or Zeus of the ancient pantheon. It seems to me
more reasonable to suppose that a primitive folk
constructed here a temple to the presiding divinity
of the place, the god who gave them this precious
clay. The principal industry of the neighboring
village is still the manufacture of pottery. No better
clay for ceramic purposes has been found in the
Andes.
It would have been perfectly natural for the pre-
historic potters to have desired to placate the pre-
siding divinity, not so much perhaps out of grati-
tude for the clay as to avert his displeasure and fend
off bad luck in baking pottery. It is well known that
the best pottery of the Incas was extremely fine in
texture. Students of ceramics are well aware of the
132 INCA LAND
uncertainty of the results of baking day. Bad luck
seems to come most unaccountably, even when the
greatest pains are taken. Might it not have been
possible that the people who were most concerned
with creating pottery decided to erect this temple to
insure success and get as much good luck as possible?
Near the ancient temple is a small modem church
with two towers. The churchyard appears to be a
favorite place for baking pottery. Possibly the mod-
ern potters use the church to pray for success in
their baking, just as the ancient potters used the
great temple of Viracocha. The walls of the church
are composed partly of adobe and partly of cut
stones taken from the ruins.
Not far away is a fairly recent though prehistoric
lava flow. It occurs to me that possibly this flow
destroyed some of the clay beds from which the
ancient potters got their precious material. The
temple may have been erected as a propitiatory
offering to the god of volcanoes in the hope that the
anger which had caused him to send the lava flow
might be appeased. It may be that the Inca Vira-
cocha, an unusually gifted ruler, was particularly
interested in ceramics and was responsible for build-
ing the temple. If so, it would be natural for people
who are devoted to ancestor worship to have here
worshiped his memory.
ROUTE MAP OF
THE PERUVIAN EXPEDITION OF 1912
UNDER THE AUSPICES OF
YALE UNIVERSITY & THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY
CHAPTER VII
THE VALLEY OF THE HUATANAY
THE valley of the Huatanay is one of many val-
leys tributary to the Urubamba. It differs from
them in having more arable land located under cli-
matic conditions favorable for the raising of the food
crops of the ancient Peruvians. Containing an area
estimated at less than i6o square miles, it was the
heart of the greatest empire that South America has
ever seen. It is still intensively cultivated, the home
of a large percentage of the people of this part of Peru.
The Huatanay itself sometimes meanders through
the valley in a natural manner, but at other times is
seen to be confined within carefully built stone walls
constructed by prehistoric agriculturists anxious
to save their fields from floods and erosion. The
climate is temperate. Extreme cold is unknown.
Water freezes in the lowlands during the dry winter
season, in June and July, and frost may occur any
night in the year above 13,000 feet, but in general
the climate may be said to be neither warm nor
cold.
This rich valley was apportioned by the Spanish
conquerors to soldiers who were granted large
estates as well as the labor of the Indians living on
them. This method still prevails and one may
occasionally meet on the road wealthy landholders
on their way to and from town. Although mules
134 INCA LAND
are essentially the most reliable saddle animals for
work in the Andes, these landholders usually prefer
horses, which are larger and faster, as well as being
more gentle and better gaited. The gentry of the
Huatanay Valley prefer a deep-seated saddle, over
which is laid a heavy sheepskin or thick fur mat.
The fashionable stirrups are pyramidal in shape,
made of wood decorated with silver bands. Owing
to the steepness of the roads, a crupper is considered
necessary and is usually decorated with a broad,
embossed panel, from which hang little trappings
reminiscent of medieval harness. The bridle is
usually made of carefully braided leather, decorated
with silver and frequently furnished with an em-
bossed leather eye shade or blinder, to indicate that
the horse is high-spirited. This eye shade, which
may be pulled down so as to blind both eyes com-
pletely, is more useful than a hitching post in per-
suading the horse to stand still.
The valley of the Huatanay River is divided into
three parts, the basins of Lucre, Oropesa, and Cuzco.
The basaltic cliffs near Oropesa divide the Lucre
Basin from the Oropesa Basin. The pass at Ango-
stura, or "the narrows," is the natural gateway be-
tween the Oropesa Basin and the Cuzco Basin.
Each basin contains interesting ruins. In the Lucre
Basin the most interesting are those of Rumiccolca
and Piquillacta.
At the extreme eastern end of the valley, on top
of the pass which leads to the Vilcanota is an an-
cient gateway called Rumiccolca {Rumi = "stone";
ccolca = "granary"). It is commonly supposed
THE VALLEY OF THE HUATANAY 135
that this was an Inca fortress, intended to separate
the chiefs of Cuzco from those of Vilcanota. It is
now locally referred to as a "fortaleza." The major
part of the wall is well built of rough stones, laid in
clay, while the sides of the gateway are faced with
carefully cut andesite ashlars of an entirely differ-
ent style. It is conceivable that some great chief-
tain built the rough wall in the days when the high-
lands were split up among many little independent
rulers, and that later one of the Incas, no longer
needing any fortifications between the Huatanay
Valley and the Vilcanota Valley, tore down part of
the wall and built a fine gateway. The faces of the
ashlars are nicely finished except for several rough
bosses or nubbins. They were probably used by the
ancient masons in order to secure a better hold when
finally adjusting the ashlars with small crowbars.
It may have been the intention of the stone masons
to remove these nubbins after the wall was com-
pleted. In one of the unfinished structures at Machu
Picchu I noticed similar bosses. The name "Stone-
granary" was probably originally applied to a
neighboring edifice now in ruins.
On the rocky hillside above Rumiccolca are the
ruins of many ancient terraces and some buildings.
Not far from Rumiccolca, on the slopes of Mt.
Piquillacta, are the ruins of an extensive city, also
called Piquillacta. A large number of its houses have
extraordinarily high walls. A high wall outside the
city, and running north and south, was obviously
built to protect it from enemies approaching from
the Vilcanota Valley. In the other directions the
136 INCA LAND
slopes are so steep as to render a wall unnecessary.
The walls are built of fragments of lava rock, with
which the slopes of Mt. Piquillacta are covered.
Cacti and thorny scrub are growing in the ruins,
but the volcanic soil is rich enough to attract the
attention of agriculturists, who come here from
neighboring villages to cultivate their crops. The
slopes above the city are still extensively cultivated,
but without terraces. Wheat and barley are the
principal crops.
As an illustration of the difficulty of identifying
places in ancient Peru, it is worth noting that the
gateway now called Rumiccolca is figured in Squier's
"Peru" as "Piquillacta." On the other hand, the
ruins of the large city, "covering thickly an area
nearly a square mile," are called by Squier "the
great Inca town of Muyna," a name also applied to
the little lake which lies in the bottom of the Lucre
Basin. As Squier came along the road from Racche
he saw Mt. Piquillacta first, then the gateway, then
Lake Muyna, then the ruins of the city. In each
case the name of the most conspicuous, harmless,
natural phenomenon seems to have been applied to
ruins by those of whom he inquired. My own ex»
perience was different.
Dr. Aguilar, a distinguished professor in the Uni-
versity of Cuzco, who has a country place in the
neighborhood and is very familiar with this region,
brought me to this ancient city from the other direc-
tion. From him I learned that the city ruins are
called Piquillacta, the name which is also applied
to the mountain which lies to the eastward of the
THE VALLEY OF THE HUATANAY 137
ruins and rises 1200 feet above them. Dr. Aguilar
lives near Oropesa. As one comes from Oropesa, Mt.
Piquillacta is a conspicuous point and is directly in
line with the city ruins. Consequently, it would be
natural for people viewing it from this direction to
give to the ruins the name of the mountain rather
than that of the lake. Yet the mountain may be
named for the ruins. Piqui means "flea"; llacta
means "town, city, country, district, or territory."
Was this "The Territory of the Fleas" or was it
"Flea Town"? And what was its name in the days
of the Incas? Was the old name abandoned because
it was considered unlucky?
Whatever the reason, it is a most extraordi-
nary fact that we have here the evidences of a very
large town, possibly pre-Inca, long since abandoned.
There are scores of houses and numerous compounds
laid out in regular fashion, the streets crossing each
other at right angles, the whole covering an area
considerably larger than the important town of
Ollantaytambo. Not a soul lives here. It is true
that across the Vilcanota to the east is a difficult,
mountainous country culminating in Mt. Ausan-
gate, the highest peak in the department. Yet
Piquillacta is in the midst of a populous region.
To the north lies the thickly settled valley of Pisac
and Yucay; to the south, the important Vilcanota
Valley with dozens of villages; to the west the
densely populated valley of the Huatanay and
Cuzco itself, the largest city in the highlands of
Peru. Thousands of people live within a radius of
twenty miles of Piquillacta, and the population is
138 INCA LAND
on the increase. It is perfectly easy of access and is
less than a mile east of the railroad. Yet it is
" abandonado — desierto — despoblado " I Undoubt-
edly here was once a large city of great importance.
The reason for its being abandoned appears to be
the absence of running water. Although Mt. Piqui-
llacta is a large mass, nearly five miles long and two
miles wide, rising to a point of 2000 feet above the
Huatanay and Vilcanota rivers, it has no streams,
brooks, or springs. It is an isolated, extinct volcano
surrounded by igneous rocks, lavas, andesites, and
basalts.
How came it that so large a city as Piquillacta
could have been built on the slopes of a mountain
which has no running streams? Has the climate
changed so much since those days? If so, how is it
that the surrounding region is still the populous part
of southern Peru? It is inconceivable that so large a
city could have been built and occupied on a plateau
four hundred feet above the nearest water unless
there was some way of providing it other than the ar-
duous one of bringing every drop up the hill on the
backs of men and llamas. If there were no places
near here better provided with water than this site,
one could understand that perhaps its inhabitants
were obliged to depend entirely upon water carriers.
On the contrary, within a radius of six miles there
are half a dozen unoccupied sites near running
streams. Until further studies can be made of this
puzzling problem I believe that the answer lies in
the ruins of Rumiccolca, which are usually thought
of as a fortress.
THE VALLEY OF THE HUATANAY 139
Squier says that this "fortress" was "the south-
ern limit of the dominions of the first Inca." "The
fortress reaches from the mountain, on one side, to a
high, rocky eminence on the other. It is popularly
called 'El Aqueducto,' perhaps from some fancied
resemblance to an aqueduct — but the name is evi-
dently misapplied." Yet he admits that the cross-
section of the wall, diminishing as it does "by gradu-
ations or steps on both sides," "might appear to
conflict with the hypothesis of its being a work of
defense or fortification" if it occupied "a different
position." He noticed that "the top of the wall is
throughout of the same level ; becomes less in height
as it approaches the hills on either hand and dimin-
ishes proportionately in thickness" as an aque-
duct should do. Yet, so possessed was he by the
"fortress" idea that he rejected not only local
tradition as expressed in the native name, but even
turned his back on the evidence of his own eyes. It
seems to me that there is little doubt that instead of
the ruins of Rumiccolca representing a fortification,
we have here the remains of an ancient azequia, or
aqueduct, built by some powerful chieftain to sup-
ply the people of Piquillacta with water.
A study of the topography of the region shows
that the river which rises southwest of the village
of Lucre and furnishes water power for its modern
textile mills could have been used to supply such
an azequia. The water, collected at an elevation of
10,700 feet, could easily have been brought six miles
along the southern slopes of the Lucre Basin, around
Mt. Rumiccolca and across the old road, on this
140 INCA LAND
aqueduct, at an elevation of about 10,600 feet. This
would have permitted it to flow through some of the
streets of Piquillacta and give the ancient city an
adequate supply of water. The slopes of Rumi-
ccolca are marked by many ancient terraces. Their
upper limit corresponds roughly with the contour
along which such an azequia would have had to pass.
There is, in fact, a distinct line on the hillside which
looks as though an azequia had once passed that
way. In the valley back of Lucre are also faint indi-
cations of old azequias. There has been, however, a
considerable amount of erosion on the hills, and if, as
seems likely, the water-works have been out of or-
der for several centuries, it is not surprising that all
traces of them have disappeared in places. I regret
very much that circumstances over which I had no
control prevented my making a thorough study of
the possibilities of such a theory. It remains for
some fortunate future investigator to determine
who were the inhabitants of Piquillacta, how they
secured their water supply, and why the city was
abandoned.
Until then I suggest as a possible working hy-
pothesis that we have at Piquillacta the remains of
a pre-Inca city; that its chiefs and people cultivated
the Lucre Basin and its tributaries; that as a com-
munity they were a separate political entity from
the people of Cuzco; that the ruler of the Cuzco
people, perhaps an Inca, finally became sufficiently
powerful to conquer the people of the Lucre Basin,
and removed the tribes which had occupied Piqui-
llacta to a distant part of his domain, a system of
SACSAHUAMAN : DETAIL OF LOWER TERRACE WALL
RUINS OF THE AQUEDUCT OF RUMICCOLCA
THE VALLEY OF THE HUATANAY 141
colonization well known in the history of the Incas;
that, after the people who had built and lived In
Piquillacta departed, no subsequent dwellers in this
region cared to reoccupy the site, and its aque-
duct fell into decay. It is easy to believe that at first
such a site would have been considered unlucky.
Its houses, unfamiliar and unfashionable in design,
would have been considered not desirable. Their
high walls might have been used for a reconstructed
city had there been plenty of water available. In
any case, the ruins of the Lucre Basin offer a most
fascinating problem.
In the Oropesa Basin the most important ruins
are those of Tipon, a pleasant, well-watered valley
several hundred feet above the village of Quispi-
canchi. They include carefully constructed houses
of characteristic Inca construction, containing many
symmetrically arranged niches with stone lintels.
The walls of most of the houses are of rough stones
laid in clay. Tipon was probably the residence of
the principal chief of the Oropesa Basin. It com-
mands a pleasant view of the village and of the hills
to the south, which to-day are covered with fields of
wheat and barley. At Tipon there is a nicely con-
structed fountain of cut stone. Some of the terraces
are extremely well built, with roughly squared
blocks fitting tightly together. Access from one
terrace to another was obtained by steps made each
of a single bonder projecting from the face of the
terrace. Few better constructed terrace walls are
to be seen anywhere. The terraces are still culti-
vated by the people of Quispicanchi. No one lives
142 INCA LAND
at Tipon now, although little shepherd boys and
goatherds frequent the neighborhood. It is more
convenient for the agriculturists to live at the edge
of their largest fields, which are in the valley
bottom, than to climb five hundred feet into the
narrow valley and occupy the old buildings. Mo-
tives of security no longer require a residence here
rather than in the open plain.
While I was examining the ruins and digging up a
few attractive potsherds bearing Inca designs, Dr.
Giesecke, the President of the University of Cuzco,
who had accompanied me, climbed the mountain
above Tipon with Dr. Aguilar and reported the
presence of a fortification near its summit. My stay
at Oropesa was rendered most comfortable and
happy by the generous hospitality of Dr. Aguilar,
whose jinca is between Quispicanchi and Oropesa
and commands a charming view of the valley.
From the Oropesa Basin, one enters the Cuzco
Basin through an opening in the sandstone cliffs
of Angostura near the modern town of San Gero-
nimo. On the slopes above the south bank of the
Huatanay, just beyond Angostura, are the ruins of a
score or more of gable-roofed houses of character-
istic Inca construction. The ancient buildings have
doors, windows, and niches in walls of small stones
laid in clay, the lintels having been of wood, now
decayed. When we asked the name of these ruins
we were told that it was Saylla, although that is the
name of a modern village three miles away, down the
Huatanay, in the Oropesa Basin. Like Piquillacta,
old Saylla has no water supply at present. It is not
THE VALLEY OF THE HUATANAY 143
far from a stream called the Kkaira and could easily
have been supplied with water by an azequia less
than two miles in length brought along the 11,000
feet contour. It looks very much like the case of a
village originally placed on the hills for the sake of
comparative security and isolation and later aban-
doned through a desire to enjoy the advantages of
living near the great highway in the bottom of the
valley, after the Incas had established peace over
the highlands. There may be another explanation.
It appears from Mr. Cook's studies that the de-
forestation of the Cuzco Basin by the hand of man,
and modern methods of tillage on unterraced slopes,
have caused an unusual amount of erosion to occur.
Landslides are frequent in the rainy season.
Opposite Saylla is Mt. Picol, whose twin peaks are
the most conspicuous feature on the north side of
the basin. Waste material from its slopes is causing
the rapid growth of a great gravel fan north of the
village of San Geronimo. Professor Gregory noticed
that the streams traversing the fan are even now
engaged in burying ancient fields by "transporting
gravel from the head of the fan to its lower margin,"
and that the lower end of the Cuzco Basin, where the
Huatanay, hemmed in between the Angostura Nar-
rows, cannot carry away the sediment as fast as it is
brought down by its tributaries, is being choked up.
If old Saylla represents a fortress set here to defend
Cuzco against old Oropesa, it might very naturally
have been abandoned when the rule of the Incas
finally spread far over the Andes. On the other
hand, it seems more likely that the people who built
144 INCA LAND
Say 11a were farmers and that when the lower Cuzco
Basin was filled up by aggradation, due to increased
erosion, they abandoned this site for one nearer the
arable lands. One may imagine the dismay with
which the agricultural residents of these ancient
houses saw their beautiful fields at the bottom of the
hill, covered in a few days, or even hours, by enor-
mous quantities of coarse gravel brought down from
the steep slopes of Picol after some driving rain-
storm. It may have been some such catastrophe
that led them to take up their residence elsewhere.
As a matter of fact we do not know when it was
abandoned. Further investigation might point to
its having been deserted when the Spanish village
of San Geronimo was founded. However, I believe
students of agriculture will agree with me that de-
forestation, increased erosion, and aggrading gravel
banks probably drove the folk out of Saylla.
The southern rim of the Cuzco Basin is broken
by no very striking peaks, although Huanacaurai
(13,427 ft.), the highest point, is connected in Inca
tradition with some of the principal festivals and
religious celebrations. The north side of the Hua-
tanay Valley is much more irregular, ranging from
Ttica Ttica pass (12,000 ft.) to Mt. Pachatucsa
(15,915 ft.), whose five little peaks are frequently
snow-clad. There is no permanent snow either here
or elsewhere in the Huatanay Valley.
The people of the Cuzco Basin are very short of
fuel. There is no native coal. What the railroad
uses comes from Australia. Firewood is scarce.
The ancient forests disappeared long ago. The only
THE VALLEY OF THE HUATANAY 145
trees in sight are a few willows or poplars from
Europe and one or two groves of eucalyptus, also
from Australia. Cuzco has been thought of and
written of as being above the tree line, but such is
not the case. The absence of trees on the neighbor-
ing hills is due entirely to the hand of man, the long
occupation, the necessities of early agriculturists,
who cleared the forests before the days of intensive
terrace agriculture, and the firewood requirements
of a large population. The people of Cuzco do not
dream of having enough fuel to make their houses
warm and comfortable. Only with difficulty can
they get enough for cooking purposes. They depend
largely on fagots and straw which are brought into
town on the backs of men and animals.
In the fields of stubble left from the wheat and
barley harvest we saw many sheep feeding. They
were thin and long-legged and many of the rams had
four horns, apparently due to centuries of inbreed-
ing and the failure to improve the original stock by
the introduction of new and superior strains.
When one looks at the great amount of arable
slopes on most of the hills of the Cuzco Basin and
the unusually extensive flat land near the Huatanay,
one readily understands why the heart of Inca Land
witnessed a concentration of population very un-
usual in the Andes. Most of the important ruins
are in the northwest quadrant of the basin either
in the immediate vicinity of Cuzco itself or on the
*' pampas'' north of the city. The reason is that
the arable lands where most extensive potato culti-
vation could be carried out are nearly all in this
146 INCA LAND
quadrant. In the midst of this potato country, at
the foot of the pass that leads directly to Pisac and
Paucartambo, is a picturesque ruin which bears the
native name of Pucara.
Pucard is the Quichua word for fortress and it
needs but one glance at the little hilltop crowned
with a rectangular fortification to realize that the
term is justified. The walls are beautifully made of
irregular blocks closely fitted together. Advantage
was taken of small cliffs on two sides of the hill to
strengthen the fortifications. We noticed openings
or drains which had been cut in the wall by the
original builders in order to prevent the accumula-
tion of moisture on the terraced floor of the enclosed
area, which is several feet above that of the sloping
field outside. Similar conduits may be seen in many
of the old walls in the city of Cuzco. Apparently, the
ancient folk fully appreciated the importance of
good drainage and took pains to secure it. At
present Pucard is occupied by llama herdsmen and
drovers, who find the enclosure a very convenient
corral. Probably Pucara was built by the chief of a
tribe of prehistoric herdsmen who raised root crops
and kept their flocks of llamas and alpacas on the
neighboring grassy slopes.
A short distance up the stream of the Lkalla
Chaca, above Pucara, is a warm mineral spring.
Around it is a fountain of cut stone. Near by are the
ruins of a beautiful terrace, on top of which is a fine
wall containing four large, ceremonial niches, level
with the ground and about six feet high. The place
is now called Tampu Machai. Polo de Ondegardo,
THE VALLEY OF THE HUATANAY 147
who lived in Cuzco in 1560, while many of the royal
family of the Incas were still alive, gives a list of the
sacred or holy places which were venerated by all
the Indians in those days. Among these he mentions
that of Timpucpuquio, the "hot springs" near
Tambo Machai, "called so from the manner in
which the water boils up." The next huaca, or holy
place, he mentions is Tambo Machai itself, "a
house of the Inca Yupanqui, where he was enter-
tained when he went to be married. It was placed on
a hill near the road over the Andes. They sacrifice
everything here except children."
The stonework of the ruins here is so excellent
in character, the ashlars being very carefully fitted
together, one may fairly assume a religious origin
for the place. The Quichua word macchini means
"to wash" or "to rinse a large narrow-mouthed
pitcher." It may be that at Tampu Machai cere-
monial purification of utensils devoted to royal or
priestly uses was carried on. It is possible that this
is the place where, according to Molina, all the
youths of Cuzco who had been armed as knights in
the great November festival came on the 21st day
of the month to bathe and change their clothes.
Afterwards they returned to the city to be lectured
by their relatives. "Each relation that offered a
sacrifice flogged a youth and delivered a discourse to
him, exhorting him to be valiant and never to be a
traitor to the Sun and the Inca, but to imitate the
bravery and prowess of his ancestors."
Tampu Machai is located on a little bluff above
the Lkalla Chaca, a small stream which finally joins
148 INCA LAND
the Huatanay near the town of San Sebastian.
Before it reaches the Huatanay, the Lkalla Chaca
joins the Cachimayo, famous as being so highly
impregnated with salt as to have caused the rise of
extensive salt works. In fact, the Pizarros named
the place Las Salinas, or "the Salt Pits," on account
of the salt pans with which, by a careful system of
terracing, the natives had filled the Cachimayo
Valley. Prescott describes the great battle which
took place here on April 26, 1539, between the
forces of Pizarro and Almagro, the two leaders who
had united for the original conquest of Peru, but
quarreled over the division of the territory. Near
the salt pans are many Inca walls and the ruins of
structures, with niches, called Rumihuasi, or "Stone
House." The presence of salt in many of the springs
of the Huatanay Valley was a great source of annoy-
ance to our topographic engineers, who were fre-
quently obliged to camp in districts where the only
water available was so saline as to spoil it for drink-
ing purposes and ruin the tea.
The Cuzco Basin was undoubtedly once the site
of a lake, "an ancient water-body whose surface,"
says Professor Gregory, "lay well above the present
site of San Sebastian and San Geronimo." This
lake is believed to have reached its maximum ex-
pansion in early Pleistocene times. Its rich silts,
so well adapted for raising maize, habas beans, and
quinoa, have always attracted farmers and are still
intensively cultivated. It has been named "Lake
Morkill" in honor of that loyal friend of scientific
THE VALLEY OF THE HUATANAY 149
research in Peru, William L. Morkill, Esq., without
whose untiring aid we could never have brought our
Peruvian explorations as far along as we did. In
pre-glacial times Lake Morkill fluctuated in volume.
From time to time parts of the shore were exposed
long enough to enable plants to send their roots into
the fine materials and the sun to bake and crack
the muds. Mastodons grazed on its banks. "Lake
Morkill probably existed during all or nearly all of
the glacial epoch." Its drainage was finally accom-
plished by the Huatanay cutting down the sand-
stone hills, near Saylla, and developing the Ango-
stura gorge.
In the banks of the Huatanay, a short distance
below the city of Cuzco, the stratified beds of the
vanished Lake Morkill to-day contain many fossil
shells. Above these are gravels brought down by
the floods and landslides of more modern times, in
which may be found potsherds and bones. One of
the chief afiluents of the Huatanay is the Chunchu-
llumayo, which cuts off the southernmost third of
Cuzco from the center of the city. Its banks are
terraced and are still used for gardens and food
crops. Here the hospitable Canadian missionaries
have their pleasant station, a veritable oasis of
Anglo-Saxon cleanliness.
On a July morning in 191 1, while strolling up the
Ayahuaycco quebrada, an affluent of the Chun-
chullumayo, in company with Professor Foote and
Surgeon Erving, my interest was aroused by the
sight of several bones and potsherds exposed by
recent erosion in the stratified gravel banks of the
150 INCA LAND
little gulch. Further examination showed that re-
cent erosion had also cut through an ancient ash
heap. On the side toward Cuzco I discovered a sec-
tion of stone wall, built of roughly finished stones
more or less carefully fitted together, which at first
sight appeared to have been built to prevent further
washing away of that side of the gulch. Yet above
the wall and flush with its surface the bank appeared
to consist of stratified gravel, indicating that the wall
antedated the gravel deposits. Fifty feet farther up
the quebrada another portion of wall appeared under
the gravel bank. On top of the bank was a culti-
vated field ! Half an hour's digging in the compact
gravel showed that there was more wall underneath
the field. Later investigation by Dr. Bowman
showed that the wall was about three feet thick and
nine feet in height, carefully faced on both sides
with roughly cut stone and filled in with rubble, a
type of stonework not uncommon in the founda-
tions of some of the older buildings in the western
part of the city of Cuzco.
Even at first sight it was obvious that this wall,
built by man, was completely covered to a depth
of six or eight feet by a compact water-laid gravel
bank. This was sufficiently difficult to understand,
yet a few days later, while endeavoring to solve the
puzzle, I found something even more exciting. Half
a mile farther up the gulch, the road, newly cut, ran
close to the compact, perpendicular gravel bank.
About five feet above the road I saw what looked
like one of the small rocks which are freely inter-
spersed throughout the gravels here. Closer exami-
THE VALLEY OF THE HUATANAY 151
nation showed it to be the end of a human femur.
Apparently it formed an integral part of the gravel
bank, which rose almost perpendicularly for seventy
or eighty feet above it. Impressed by the possibili-
ties in case it should turn out to be true that here,
in the heart of Inca Land, a human bone had been
buried under seventy-five feet of gravel, I refrained
from disturbing it until I could get Dr. Bowman and
Professor Foote, the geologist and the naturalist of
the 191 1 Expedition, to come with me to the Aya-
huaycco quebrada. We excavated the femur and
found behind it fragments of a number of other
bones. They were excessively fragile. The femur
was unable to support more than four inches of its
own weight and broke off after the gravel had been
partly removed. Although the gravel itself was
somewhat damp the bones were dry and powdery,
ashy gray in color. The bones were carried to the
Hotel Central, where they were carefully photo-
graphed, soaked in melted vaseline, packed in
cotton batting, and eventually brought to New
Haven. Here they were examined by Dr. George F.
Eaton, Curator of Osteology in the Peabody Mu-
seum. In the meantime Dr. Bowman had become
convinced that the compact gravels of Ayahuaycco
were of glacial origin.
When Dr. Eaton first examined the bone frag-
ments he was surprised to find among them the bone
of a horse. Unfortunately a careful examination of
the photographs taken in Cuzco of all the fragments
which were excavated by us on July nth failed to
reveal this particular bone. Dr. Bowman, upon
152 INCA LAND
being questioned, said that he had dug out one or
two more bones in the diff adjoining our excavation
of July nth and had added these to the original lot.
Presumably this horse bone was one which he had
added when the bones were packed. It did not
worry him, however, and so sure was he of his in-
terpretation of the gravel beds that he declared he
did not care if we had found the bone of a Perch-
eron stallion, he was sure that the age of the verte-
brate remains might be "provisionally estimated at
20,000 to 40,000 years," until further studies could
be made of the geology of the surrounding territory.
In an article on the buried wall. Dr. Bowman came
to the conclusion that "the wall is pre-Inca, that its
relations to alluvial deposits which cover it Indicate
its erection before the alluvial slope in which it lies
buried was formed, and that it represents the earli-
est type of architecture at present known in the
Cuzco basin."
Dr. Eaton's study of the bones brought out the
fact that eight of them were fragments of human
bones representing at least three individuals, four
were fragments of llama bones, one of the bone of a
dog, and three were "bovine remains." The human
remains agreed "in all essential respects" with the
bones of modern Quichuas. Llama and dog might
all have belonged to Inca, or even more recent times,
but the bovine remains presented considerable diffi-
culty. The three fragments were from bones which
"are among the least characteristic parts of the
skeleton." That which was of greatest interest was
the fragment of a first rib, resembling the first rib of
THE VALLEY OF THE HUATANAY 153
the extinct bison. Since this fragmentary bovine
rib was of a form apparently characteristic of bisons
and not seen in the domestic cattle of the United
States, Dr. Eaton felt that it could not be denied
"that the material examined suggests the possi-
bility that some species of bison is here represented,
yet it would hardly be in accordance with conserva-
tive methods to differentiate bison from domestic
cattle solely by characters obtained from a study of
the first ribs of a small number of individuals." Al-
though staunchly supporting his theory of the age
of the vertebrate remains, Dr. Bowman in his re-
port on their geological relations admitted that the
weakness of his case lay in the fact that the bovine
remains were not sharply differentiated from the
bones of modern cattle, and also in the possibility
that "the bluff in which the bones were found may
be faced by younger gravel and that the bones were
found in a gravel veneer deposited during later
periods of partial valley filling, . . . although it still
seems very unlikely."
Reports of glacial man in America have come from
places as widely separated as California and Argen-
tina. Careful investigation, however, has always
thrown doubt on any great age being certainly
attributable to any human remains. In view of the
fragmentary character of the skeletal evidence, the
fact that no proof of great antiquity could be drawn
from the characters of the human skeletal parts, and
the suggestion made by Dr. Bowman of the possi-
bility that the gravels which contained the bones
might be of a later origin than he thought, we deter-
154 INCA LAND
mined to make further and more complete investi-
gations in 1912. It was most desirable to clear up
all doubts and dissolve all skepticism. I felt, per-
haps mistakenly, that while a further study of the
geology of the Cuzco Basin undoubtedly might lead
Dr. Bowman to reverse his opinion, as was expected
by some geologists, if it should lead him to confirm
his original conclusions the same skeptics would be
likely to continue their skepticism and say he was
trying to bolster up his own previous opinions.
Accordingly, I believed it preferable to take another
geologist, whose independent testimony would give
great weight to those conclusions should he find
them confirmed by an exhaustive geological study
of the Huatanay Valley. I asked Dr. Bowman's
colleague, Professor Gregory, to make the necessary
studies. At his request a very careful map of the
Huatanay Valley was prepared under the direction
of Chief Topographer Albert H. Bumstead. Dr.
Eaton, who had had no opportunity of seeing Peru,
was invited to accompany us and make a study of
the bones of modern Peruvian cattle as well as of any
other skeletal remains which might be found.
Furthermore, it seemed important to me to dig
a tunnel into the Ayahuaycco hillside at the exact
point from which we took the bones in 191 1. So I
asked Mr. K. C. Heald, whose engineering training
had been in Colorado, to superintend it. Mr. Heald
dug a tunnel eleven feet long, with a cross-section
four and a half by three feet, into the solid mass of
gravel. He expected to have to use timbering, but so
firmly packed was the gravel that this was not neces-
THE VALLEY OF THE HUATANAY 155
sary. No bones or artifacts were found — nothing
but coarse gravel, uniform in texture and containing
no unmistakable evidences of stratification. Appar-
ently the bones had been in a land slip on the edge
of an older, compact gravel mass.
In his studies of the Cuzco Basin Professor Greg-
ory came to the conclusion that the Ayahuaycco
gravel banks might have been repeatedly buried
and reexcavated many times during the past few
centuries. He found evidence indicating periodic
destruction and rebuilding of some gravel terraces,
"even within the past one hundred years." Accord-
ingly there was no longer any necessity to ascribe
great antiquity to the bones or the wall which we
found in the Ayahuaycco quebrada. Although the
"Cuzco gravels are believed to have reached their
greatest extent and thickness in late Pleistocene
times," more recent deposits have, however, been
superimposed on top and alongside of them. "Sur-
face wash from the bordering slopes, controlled in
amount and character by climatic changes, has
probably been accumulating continuously since
glacial times, and has greatly increased since human
occupation began." "Geologic data do not require
more than a few hundreds of years as the age of the
human remains found in the Cuzco gravels."
But how about the "bison"? Soon after his
arrival in Cuzco, Dr. Eaton examined the first ribs
of carcasses of beef animals offered for sale in the
public markets. He immediately became convinced
that the "bison" was a Peruvian domestic ox.
"Under the life-conditions prevailing in this part of
156 INCA LAND
the Andes, and possibly in correlation with the
increased action of the respiratory muscles in a rare-
fied air, domestic cattle occasionally develop first
ribs, closely approaching the form observed in
bison." Such was the sad end of the "bison"
and the "Cuzco man," who at one time I thought
might be forty thousand years old, and now believe
to have been two hundred years old, perhaps. The
word Ayahuaycco in Quichua means "the valley of
dead bodies" or "dead man's gulch." There is a
story that it was used as a burial place for plague
victims in Cuzco, not more than three generations
ago!
CHAPTER VIII
THE OLDEST CITY IN SOUTH AMERICA
/^UZCO, the oldest city in South America, has
^^ changed completely since Squier's visit. In
fact it has altered considerably since my own first
impressions of it were published in "Across South
America." To be sure, there are still the evidences
of antiquity to be seen on every side; on the other
hand there are corresponding evidences of advance-
ment. Telephones, electric lights, street cars, and
the "movies" have come to stay. The streets are
cleaner. If the modern traveler finds fault with
some of the conditions he encounters he must
remember that many of the achievements of the
people of ancient Cuzco are not yet duplicated in
his own country nor have they ever been equaled
in any other part of the world. And modern Cuzco
is steadily progressing. The great square in front
of the cathedral was completely metamorphosed by
Prefect Nunez in 191 1; concrete walks and beds of
bright flowers have replaced the market and the old
cobblestone paving and made the plaza a favorite
promenade of the citizens on pleasant evenings.
The principal market-place now is the Plaza of
San Francisco. It is crowded with booths of every
description. Nearly all of the food-stuffs and uten-
sils used by the Indians may be bought here.
Frequently thronged with Indians, buying and
158 INCA LAND
selling, arguing and jabbering, it affords, particu-
larly in the early morning, a never-ending source of
entertainment to one who is fond of the picturesque
and interested in strange manners and customs.
The retail merchants of Cuzco follow the very old
custom of congregating by classes. In one street are
the dealers in hats; in another those who sell coca.
The dressmakers and tailors are nearly all in one
long arcade in a score or more of dark little shops.
Their light seems to come entirely from the front
door. The occupants are operators of American
sewing-machines who not only make clothing to
order, but always have on hand a large assortment
of standard sizes and patterns. In another arcade
are the shops of those who specialize in everything
which appeals to the eye and the pocketbook of the
arriero: richly decorated halters, which are intended
to avert the Evil Eye from his best mules; leather
knapsacks in which to carry his coca or other valu-
able articles ; cloth cinches and leather bridles ; raw-
hide lassos, with which he is more likely to make a
diamond hitch than to rope a mule; flutes to while
away the weary hours of his journey, and candles to
be burned before his patron saint as he starts for
some distant village; in a word, all the paraphernalia
of his profession.
In order to learn more about the picturesque
Quichuas who throng the streets of Cuzco it was
felt to be important to secure anthropometric
measurements of a hundred Indians. Accordingly,
Surgeon Nelson set up a laboratory in the Hotel
Central. His subjects were the unwilling victims
■ ' w:s r>
f^ r^ -r.
'^^^ -^^H^k-r^^i/i ,y ^ ^^'^
•9 M-3; a iDDO
OLDEST CITY IN SOUTH AMERICA 159
of friendly gendarmes who went out into the streets
with orders to bring for examination only pure-
blooded Quichuas. Most of the Indians showed no
resentment and were in the end pleased and sur-
prised to find themselves the recipients of a small
silver coin as compensation for loss of time.
One might have supposed that a large proportion
of Dr. Nelson's subjects would have claimed Cuzco
as their native place, but this was not the case. Ac-
tually fewer Indians came from the city itself than
from relatively small towns like Anta, Huaracondo,
and Maras. This may have been due to a number of
causes. In the first place, the gendarmes may have
preferred to arrest strangers from distant villages,
who would submit more willingly. Secondly, the
city folk were presumably more likely to be in their
shops attending to their business or watching their
wares in the plaza, an occupation which the gen-
darmes could not interrupt. On the other hand it is
also probably true that the residents of Cuzco are
of more mixed descent than those of remote villages,
where even to-day one cannot find more than two or
three individuals who speak Spanish. Furthermore,
the attention of the gendarmes might have been
drawn more easily to the quaintly caparisoned
Indians temporarily in from the country, where city
fashions do not prevail, than to those who through
long residence in the city had learned to adopt a
costume more in accordance with European notions.
In 1870, according to Squier, seven eighths of the
population of Cuzco were still pure Indian. Even
to-day a large proportion of the individuals whom
i6o INCA LAND
one sees In the streets appears to be of pure aborigi-
nal ancestry. Of these we found that many are visi-
tors from outlying villages. Cuzco is the Mecca of
the most densely populated part of the Andes.
Probably a large part of its citizens are of mixed
Spanish and Quichua ancestry. The Spanish con-
quistadores did not bring European women with
them. Nearly all took native wives. The Spanish
race is composed of such an extraordinary mixture
of peoples from Europe and northern Africa, Celts,
Iberians, Romans, and Goths, as well as Carthagin-
ians, Berbers, and Moors, that the Hispanic peoples
have far less antipathy toward intermarriage with
the American race than have the Anglo-Saxons and
Teutons of northern Europe. Consequently, there
has gone on for centuries intermarriage of Spaniards
and Indians with results which are difficult to de-
termine. Some writers have said there were once
200,000 people in Cuzco. With primitive methods
of transportation it would be very difficult to feed so
many. Furthermore, in 1559, there were, according
to Montesinos, only 20,000 Indians in Cuzco.
One of the charms of Cuzco is the juxtaposition of
old and new. Street cars clanging over steel rails
carry crowds of well-dressed Cuzcenos past Inca
walls to greet their friends at the railroad station.
The driver is scarcely able by the most vigorous
application of his brakes to prevent his mules from
crashing into a compact herd of quiet, supercilious
llamas sedately engaged in bringing small sacks of
potatoes to the Cuzco market. The modern convent
of La Merced is built of stones taken from ancient
OLDEST CITY IN SOUTH AMERICA i6i
Inca structures. Fastened to ashlars which left the
Inca stonemason's hands six or seven centuries ago,
one sees a bill-board advertising Cuzco's largest
moving-picture theater. On the 2d of July, 191 5,
the performance was for the benefit of the Belgian
Red Cross! Gazing in awe at this sign were Indian
boys from some remote Andean village where the
custom is to wear ponchos with broad fringes,
brightly colored, and knitted caps richly decorated
with tasseled tops and elaborate ear-tabs, a costume
whose design shows no trace of European influence.
Side by side with these picturesque visitors was a
barefooted Cuzco urchin clad in a striped jersey,
cloth cap, coat, and pants of English pattern.
One sees electric light wires fastened to the walls
of houses built four hundred years ago by the Span-
ish conquerors, walls which themselves rest on mas-
sive stone foundations laid by Inca masons cen-
turies before the conquest. In one place telephone
wires intercept one's view of the beautiful stone
fagade of an old Jesuit Church, now part of the
University of Cuzco. It is built of reddish basalt
from the quarries of Huaccoto, near the twin peaks
of Mt. Picol. Professor Gregory says that this
Huaccoto basalt has a softness and uniformity of
texture which renders it peculiarly suitable for that
elaborately carved stonework which was so greatly
desired by ecclesiastical architects of the sixteenth
century. As compared with the dense diorite which
was extensively used by the Incas, the basalt
weathers far more rapidly. The rich red color of the
weathered portions gives to the Jesuit Church an
i62 INCA LAND
atmosphere of extreme age. The courtyard of the
University, whose arcades echoed to the feet of
learned Jesuit teachers long before Yale was founded,
has recently been paved with concrete, transformed
into a tennis court, and now echoes to the shouts
of students to whom Dr. Giesecke, the successful
president, is teaching the truth of the ancient axiom,
''Mens Sana in cor pore sano."
Modern Cuzco is a city of about 20,000 people.
Although it is the political capital of the most im-
portant department in southern Peru, it had in 191 1
only one hospital — a semi-public, non-sectarian
organization on the west of the city, next door to the
largest cemetery. In fact, so far away is it from
everything else and so close to the cemetery that the
funeral wreaths and the more prominent monuments
are almost the only interesting things which the
patients have to look at. The building has large
courtyards and open colonnades, which would afford
ideal conditions for patients able to take advantage
of open-air treatment. At the time of Surgeon
Erving's visit he found the patients were all kept in
wards whose windows were small and practically
always closed and shuttered, so that the atmosphere
was close and the light insufficient. One could
hardly imagine a stronger contrast than exists
between such wards and those to which we are
accustomed in the United States, where the maxi-
mum of sunlight and fresh air is sought and patients
are encouraged to sit out-of-doors, and even have
their cots on porches. There was no resident physi-
cian. The utmost care was taken throughout the
TOWERS OF JESUIT CHURCH WITH CLOISTERS AND
TEXXIS COURT OF UXIVERSITY, CUZCO
OLDEST CITY IN SOUTH AMERICA 163
hospital to have everything as dark as possible, thus
conforming to the ancient mountain traditions re-
garding the evil effects of sunlight and fresh air.
Needless to say, the hospital has a high mortality
and a very poor local reputation; yet it is the only
hospital in the Department, Outside of Cuzco, in all
the towns we visited, there was no provision for
caring for the sick except in their own homes. In
the larger places there are shops where some of the
more common drugs may be obtained, but in the
great majority of towns and villages no modern
medicines can be purchased. No wonder President
Giesecke, of the University, is urging his students
to play football and tennis.
On the slopes of the hill which overshadows the
University are the interesting terraces of Colcam-
pata. Here, in 1571, lived Carlos Inca, a cousin of
Inca Titu Cusi, one of the native rulers who suc-
ceeded in maintaining a precarious existence in the
wilds of the Cordillera Uilcapampa after the Span-
ish Conquest. In the gardens of Colcampata is still
preserved one of the most exquisite bits of Inca
stonework to be seen in Peru. One wonders whether
it is all that is left of a fine palace, or whether it
represents the last efforts of a dying dynasty to erect
a suitable residence for Titu Cusi's cousin. It is
carefully preserved by Don Cesare Lomellini, the
leading business man of Cuzco, a merchant prince
of Italian origin, who is at once a banker, an ex-
porter of hides and other country produce, and an
importer of merchandise of every description, in-
cluding pencils and sugar mills, lumber and hats,
i64 INCA LAND
candy and hardware. He is also an amateur of
Spanish colonial furniture as well as of the beautiful
pottery of the Incas. Furthermore, he has always
found time to turn aside from the pressing cares of
his large business to assist our expeditions. He has
frequently brought us in touch with the owners of
country estates, or given us letters of introduction,
so that our paths were made easy. He has provided
us with storerooms for our equipment, assisted us in
procuring trustworthy muleteers, seen to it that we
were not swindled in local purchases of mules and
pack saddles, given us invaluable advice in over-
coming difficulties, and, in a word, placed himself
wholly at our disposal, just as though we were his
most desirable and best-paying clients. As a matter
of fact, he never was willing to receive any compen-
sation for the many favors he showed us. So im-
portant a factor was he in the success of our expedi-
tions that he deserves to be gratefully remembered
by all friends of exploration.
Above his country house at Colcampata is the
hill of Sacsahuaman. It is possible to scramble up
its face, but only by making more exertion than is
desirable at this altitude, 11,900 feet. The easiest
way to reach the famous "fortress" is by following
the course of the little Tullumayu, " Feeble Stream,"
the easternmost of the three canalized streams which
divide Cuzco into four parts. On its banks one first
passes a tannery and then, a short distance up a
steep gorge, the remains of an old mill. The stone
flume and the adjoining ruins are commonly as-
cribed by the people of Cuzco to-day to the Incas,
OLDEST CITY IN SOUTH AMERICA 165
but do not look to me like Inca stonework. Since
the Incas did not understand the mechanical prin-
ciple of the wheel, it is hardly likely that they would
have known how to make any use of water power.
Finally, careful examination of the flume discloses
the presence of lead cement, a substance unknown
in Inca masonry.
A little farther up the stream one passes through a
massive megalithic gateway and finds one's self in
the presence of the astounding gray-blue Cyclopean
walls of Sacsahuaman, described in "Across South
America." Here the ancient builders constructed
three great terraces, which extend one above an-
other for a third of a mile across the hill between two
deep gulches. The lowest terrace of the "fortress"
is faced with colossal boulders, many of which
weigh ten tons and some weigh more than twenty
tons, yet all are fitted together with the utmost
precision. I have visited Sacsahuaman repeatedly.
Each time it invariably overwhelms and astounds.
To a superstitious Indian who sees these walls for
the first time, they must seem to have been built
by gods.
About a mile northeast of Sacsahuaman are sev-
eral small artificial hills, partly covered with vege-
tation, which seem to be composed entirely of gray-
blue rock chips — chips from the great limestone
blocks quarried here for the "fortress" and later
conveyed with the utmost pains down to Sacsahua-
man. They represent the labor of countless thou-
sands of quarrymen. Even in modern times, with
steam drills, explosives, steel tools, and light rail-
i66 INCA LAND
ways, these hills would be noteworthy, but when
one pauses to consider that none of these me-
chanical devices were known to the ancient stone-
masons and that these mountains of stone chips
were made with stone tools and were all carried
from the quarries by hand, it fairly staggers the
imagination.
The ruins of Sacsahuaman represent not only an
incredible amount of human labor, but also a very
remarkable governmental organization. That thou-
sands of people could have been spared from agri-
cultural pursuits for so long a time as was necessary
to extract the blocks from the quarries, hew them to
the required shapes, transport them several miles
over rough country, and bond them together in
such an intricate manner, means that the leaders
had the brains and ability to organize and arrange
the affairs of a very large population. Such a folk
could hardly have spent much time in drilling or
preparing for warfare. Their building operations
required infinite pains, endless time, and devoted
skill. Such qualities could hardly have been called
forth, even by powerful monarchs, had not the re-
sults been pleasing to the great majority of their
people, people who were primarily agriculturists.
They had learned to avert hunger and famine by
relying on carefully built, stone-faced terraces, which
would prevent their fields being carried off and
spread over the plains of the Amazon. It seems to
me possible that Sacsahuaman was built in accord-
ance with their desires to please their gods. Is it not
reasonable to suppose that a people to whom stone-
OLDEST CITY IN SOUTH AMERICA 167
faced terraces meant so much in the way of Hfe-
glvlng food should have sometimes built massive
terraces of Cyclopean character, like Sacsahuaman,
as an offering to the deity who first taught them
terrace construction? This seems to me a more likely
object for the gigantic labor involved in the con-
struction of Sacsahuaman than its possible useful-
ness as a fortress. Equally strong defenses against
an enemy attempting to attack the hilltop back of
Cuzco might have been constructed of smaller stones
in an infinitely shorter time, with far less labor and
pains.
Such a display of the power to control the labor of
thousands of individuals and force them to super-
human efforts on an unproductive undertaking,
which in its agricultural or strategic results was out
of all proportion to the obvious cost, might have
been caused by the supreme vanity of a great sol-
dier. On the other hand, the ancient Peruvians
were religious rather than warlike, more inclined to
worship the sun than to fight great battles. Was
Sacsahuaman due to the desire to please, at what-
ever cost, the god that fructified the crops which
grew on terraces? It is not surprising that the
Spanish conquerors, warriors themselves and de-
scendants of twenty generations of a fighting race,
accustomed as they were to the salients of European
fortresses, should have looked upon Sacsahuaman
as a fortress. To them the military use of its bas-
tions was perfectly obvious. The value of its sali-
ents and reentrant angles was not likely to be over-
looked, for it had been only recently acquired by
i68 INCA LAND
their crusading ancestors. The height and strength
of its powerful walls enabled it to be of the greatest
service to the soldiers of that day. They saw that it
was virtually impregnable for any artillery with
which they were familiar. In fact, in the wars of
the Incas and those which followed Pizarro's entry
into Cuzco, Sacsahuaman was repeatedly used as a
fortress.
So it probably never occurred to the Spaniards
that the Peruvians, who knew nothing of explosive
powder or the use of artillery, did not construct
Sacsahuaman in order to withstand such a siege as
the fortresses of Europe were only too familiar with.
So natural did it seem to the first Europeans who
saw it to regard it as a fortress that it has seldom
been thought of in any other way. The fact that the
sacred city of Cuzco was more likely to be attacked
by invaders coming up the valley, or even over the
gentle slopes from the west, or through the pass from
the north which for centuries has been used as part
of the main highway of the central Andes, never
seems to have troubled writers who regarded Sacsa-
huaman essentially as a fortress. It may be that
Sacsahuaman was once used as a place where the
votaries of the sun gathered at the end of the rainy
season to celebrate the vernal equinox, and at the
summer solstice to pray for the sun's return from his
"farthest north." In any case I believe that the
enormous cost of its construction shows that it was
probably intended for religious rather than military
purposes. It is more likely to have been an ancient
shrine than a mighty fortress.
OLDEST CITY IN SOUTH AMERICA 169
It now becomes necessary, in order to explain my
explorations north of Cuzco, to ask the reader's at-
tention to a brief account of the last four Incas who
ruled over any part of Peru.
CHAPTER IX
THE LAST FOUR INCAS
READERS of Prescott's charming classic, "The
Conquest of Peru," will remember that Pizarro,
after killing Atahualpa, the Inca who had tried in
vain to avoid his fate by filling a room with vessels
of gold, decided to establish a native prince on the
throne of the Incas to rule in accordance with the
dictates of Spain. The young prince, Manco, a son
of the great Inca Huayna Capac, named for the first
Inca, Manco Ccapac, the founder of the dynasty,
was selected as the most acceptable figurehead. He
was a young man of ability and spirit. His induction
into office in 1534 with appropriate ceremonies, the
barbaric splendor of which only made the farce the
more pitiful, did little to gratify his natural ambi-
tion. As might have been foreseen, he chafed under
restraint, escaped as soon as possible from his at-
tentive guardians, and raised an army of faithful
Quichuas. There followed the siege of Cuzco, briefly
characterized by Don Alonzo Enriques de Guzman,
who took part in it, as "the most fearful and cruel
war in the world." When in 1536 Cuzco was re-
lieved by Pizarro's comrade, Almagro, and Manco's
last chance of regaining the ancient capital of his
ancestors failed, the Inca retreated to Ollantay-
tambo. Here, on the banks of the river Urubamba,
Manco made a determined stand, but Ollantay-
GLACIERS BETWEEN CUZCO AND UITICOS
THE LAST FOUR INCAS 171
tambo was too easily reached by Pizarro's mounted
cavaliers. The Inca's followers, although aroused to
their utmost endeavors by the presence of the mag-
nificent stone edifices, fortresses, granaries, palaces,
and hanging gardens of their ancestors, found it
necessary to retreat. They fled in a northerly direc-
tion and made good their escape over snowy passes
to Uiticos in the fastnesses of Uilcapampa, a veri-
table American Switzerland.
The Spaniards who attempted to follow Manco
found his position practically impregnable. The
citadel of Uilcapampa, a gigantic natural fortress
defended by Nature in one of her profoundest
moods, was only to be reached by fording dangerous
torrents, or crossing the mountains by narrow defiles
which themselves are higher than the most lofty
peaks of Europe. It was hazardous for Hannibal and
Napoleon to bring their armies through the com-
paratively low passes of the Alps. Pizarro found it
impossible to follow the Inca Manco over the Pass of
Panticalla, itself a snowy wilderness higher than the
summit of Mont Blanc. In no part of the Peruvian
Andes are there so many beautiful snowy peaks.
Near by is the sharp, icy pinnacle of Mt. Veronica
(elevation 19,342 ft.). Not far away is another mag-
nificent snow-capped peak, Mt. Salcantay, 20,565
feet above the sea. Near Salcantay is the sharp
needle of Mt. Soray (19,435 ft.), while to the west of
it are Panta (18,590 ft.) and Soiroccocha (18,197 ft.).
On the shoulders of these mountains are unnamed
glaciers and little valleys that have scarcely ever
been seen except by some hardy prospector or
172 INCA LAND
inquisitive explorer. These valleys are to be reached
only through passes where the traveler is likely to
be waylaid by violent storms of hail and snow.
During the rainy season a large part of Uilcapampa
is absolutely impenetrable. Even in the dry season
the difficulties of transportation are very great. The
most sure-footed mule is sometimes unable to use
the trails without assistance from man. It was an
ideal place for the Inca Manco.
The conquistador, Cieza de Leon, who wrote in
1550 a graphic account of the wars of Peru, says that
Manco took with him a "great quantity of treasure,
collected from various parts . . . and many loads of
rich clothing of wool, delicate in texture and very
beautiful and showy." The Spaniards were abso-
lutely unable to conceive of the ruler of a country
traveling without rich "treasure." It is extremely
doubtful whether Manco burdened himself with
much gold or silver. Except for ornament there was
little use to which he could have put the precious
metals and they would have served only to arouse
the cupidity of his enemies. His people had never
been paid in gold or silver. Their labor was his due,
and only such part of it as was needed to raise their
own crops and make their own clothing was allotted
to them; in fact, their lives were in his hands and
the custom and usage of centuries made them faith-
ful followers of their great chief. That Manco, how-
ever, actually did carry off with him beautiful tex-
tiles, and anything else which was useful, may be
taken for granted. In Uiticos, safe from the armed
forces of his enemies, the Inca was also able to enjoy
THE LAST FOUR INCAS 173
the benefits of a delightful climate, and was in a
well-watered region where corn, potatoes, both
white and sweet, and the fruits of the temperate and
sub-tropical regions easily grow. Using this as a
base, he was accustomed to sally forth against the
Spaniards frequently and in unexpected directions.
His raids were usually successful, i It was relatively
easy for him, with a handful of followers, to dash
out of the mountain fastnesses, cross the Apurimac
River either by swimming or on primitive rafts,
and reach the great road between Cuzco and Lima,
the principal highway of Peru. Officials and mer-
chants whose business led them over this route
found it extremely precarious. Manco cheered his
followers by making them realize that in these raids
they were taking sweet revenge on the Spaniards
for what they had done to Peru. It is interesting to
note that Cieza de Leon justifies Manco in his at-
titude, for the Spaniards had indeed "seized his
inheritance, forcing him to leave his native land,
and to live in banishment."
Manco's success in securing such a place of refuge,
and in using it as a base from which he could fre-
quently annoy his enemies, led many of the Orejones
of Cuzco to follow him. The Inca chiefs were called
Orejones, "big ears," by the Spaniards because the
lobes of their ears had been enlarged artificially to
receive the great gold earrings which they were fond
of wearing. Three years after Manco's retirement
to the wilds of Uilcapampa there was born in Cuzco
in the year 1539, Garcilasso Inca de la Vega, the son
of an Inca princess and one of the conquistador es.
174 INCA LAND
As a small child Garcilasso heard of the activities
of his royal relative. He left Peru as a boy and
spent the rest of his life in Spain. After forty years
in Europe he wrote, partly from memory, his
"Royal Commentaries," an account of the country
of his Indian ancestors. Of the Inca Manco, of
whom he must frequently have heard uncompli-
mentary reports as a child, he speaks apologetically.
He says: "In the time of Manco Inca, several rob-
beries were committed on the road by his subjects;
but still they had that respect for the Spanish Mer-
chants that they let them go free and never pillaged
them of their wares and merchandise, which were in
no manner useful to them; howsoever they robbed
the Indians of their cattle [llamas and alpacas],
bred in the countrey. . . . The Inca lived in the
Mountains, which afforded no tame Cattel; and
only produced Tigers and Lions and Serpents of
twenty-five and thirty feet long, with other veno-
mous insects." (I am quoting from Sir Paul
Rycaut's translation, published in London in 1688.)
Garcilasso says Manco's soldiers took only "such
food as they found in the hands of the Indians;
which the Inca did usually call his own," saying,
"That he who was Master of that whole Empire
might lawfully challenge such a proportion thereof
as was convenient to supply his necessary and
natural support" — a reasonable apology; and yet
personally I doubt whether Manco spared the
Spanish merchants and failed to pillage them of
their "wares and merchandise." As will be seen
later, we found in Manco's palace some metal
THE LAST FOUR INCAS 175
articles of European origin which might very well
have been taken by Manco's raiders. Furthermore,
it should be remembered that Garcilasso, although
often quoted by Prescott, left Peru when he was
sixteen years old and that his ideas were largely
colored by his long life in Spain and his natural
desire to extol the virtues of his mother's people, a
brown race despised by the white Europeans for
whom he wrote.
The methods of warfare and the weapons used
by Man CO and his followers at this time are thus
described by Guzman. He says the Indians had no
defensive arms such as helmets, shields, and armor,
but used "lances, arrows, clubs, axes, halberds,
darts, and slings, and another weapon which they
call ayllas (the bolas), consisting of three round
stones sewn up in leather, and each fastened to a
cord a cubit long. They throw these at the horses,
and thus bind their legs together; and sometimes
they will fasten a man's arms to his sides in the
same way. These Indians are so expert in the use of
this weapon that they will bring down a deer with
it in the chase. Their principal weapon, however, is
the sling. . . . With it, they will hurl a huge stone
with such force that it will kill a horse; in truth, the
effect is little less great than that of an arquebus;
and I have seen a stone, thus hurled from a sling,
break a sword in two pieces which was held in a
man's hand at a distance of thirty paces."
Manco's raids finally became so annoying that
Pizarro sent a small force from Cuzco under Cap-
tain Villadiego to attack the Inca. Captain Villa-
176 INCA LAND
diego found it Impossible to use horses, although
he realized that cavalry was the "important arm
against these Indians." Confident in his strength
and in the efficacy of his firearms, and anxious to
enjoy the spoils of a successful raid against a chief
reported to be traveling surrounded by his family
*' and with rich treasure,'" he pressed eagerly on, up
through a lofty valley toward a defile in the moun-
tains, probably the Pass of Panticalla. Here, fa-
tigued and exhausted by their difficult march and
suffering from the effects of the altitude (16,000 ft.),
his men found themselves ambushed by the Inca,
who with a small party, "little more than eighty
Indians," "attacked the Christians, who numbered
twenty-eight or thirty, and killed Captain Villa-
diego and all his men except two or three." To any
one who has clambered over the passes of the Cor-
dillera Uilcapampa it is not surprising that this
military expedition was a failure or that the Inca,
warned by keen-sighted Indians posted on appro-
priate vantage points, could have succeeded in
defeating a small force of weary soldiers armed with
the heavy blunderbuss of the seventeenth century.
In a rocky pass, protected by huge boulders, and
surrounded by quantities of natural ammunition for
their slings, it must have been relatively simple for
eighty Quichuas, who could "hurl a huge stone with
such force that it would kill a horse," to have lit-
erally stoned to death Captain Villadiego's little
company before they could have prepared their
clumsy weapons for firing.
The fugitives returned to Cuzco and reported
THE URUBAMBA CANYON
A reason for the safety of the Incas in Uilcapampa
THE LAST FOUR INCAS 177
their misfortune. The importance of the reverse will
be better appreciated if one remembers that the size
of the force with which Pizarro conquered Peru was
less than two hundred, only a few times larger than
Captain Villadiego's company which had been wiped
out by Manco. Its significance is further increased
by the fact that the contemporary Spanish writers,
with all their tendency to exaggerate, placed
Manco's force at only "a little more than eighty
Indians." Probably there were not even that many.
The wonder is that the Inca's army was not re-
ported as being several thousand.
Francisco Pizarro himself now hastily set out
with a body of soldiers determined to punish this
young Inca who had inflicted such a blow on the
prestige of Spanish arms, "but this attempt also
failed, " for the Inca had withdrawn across the rivers
and mountains of Uilcapampa to Uiticos, where,
according to Cieza de Leon, he cheered his followers
with the sight of the heads of his enemies. Unfortu-
nately for accuracy, the custom of displaying on the
ends of pikes the heads of one's enemies was Eu-
ropean and not Peruvian. To be sure, the savage
Indians of some of the Amazonian jungles do some-
times decapitate their enemies, remove the bones of
the skull, dry the shrunken scalp and face, and wear
the trophy as a mark of prowess just as the North
American Indians did the scalps of their enemies.
Such customs had no place among the peace-loving
Inca agriculturists of central Peru. There were no
Spaniards living with Manco at that time to report
any such,' outrage on the bodies of Captain Villa-
178 INCA LAND
diego's unfortunate men. Probably the conquista-
dores supposed that Manco did what the Spaniards
would have done under similar circumstances.
Following the failure of Francisco Pizarro to pene-
trate to Uiticos, his brother, Gonzalo, "undertook
the pursuit of the Inca and occupied some of his
passes and bridges," but was unsuccessful in pene-
trating the mountain labyrinth. Being less fool-
hardy than Captain Villadiego, he did not come
into actual conflict with Manco. Unable to subdue
the young Inca or prevent his raids on travelers
from Cuzco to Lima, Francisco Pizarro, "with the
assent of the royal officers who were with him," es-
tablished the city of Ayacucho at a convenient
point on the road, so as to make it secure for travel-
ers. Nevertheless, according to Montesinos, Manco
caused the good people of Ayacucho quite a little
trouble. Finally, Francisco Pizarro, "having taken
one of Manco's wives prisoner with other Indians,
stripped and flogged her, and then shot her to death
with arrows."
Accounts of what happened in Uiticos under the
rule of Manco are not very satisfactory. Father
Calancha, who published in 1 639 his " Coronica
Moralizada,'' or "pious account of the missionary
activities of the Augustinians" in Peru, says that
the Inca Manco was obeyed by all the Indians who
lived in a region extending "for two hundred leagues
and more toward the east and toward the south,
where there were innumerable Indians in various
provinces." With customary monastic zeal and
proper religious fervor, Father Calancha accuses
THE LAST FOUR INCAS 179
the Inca of compelling the baptized Indians who
fled to him from the Spaniards to abandon their new
faith, torturing those who would no longer worship
the old Inca "idols." This story need not be taken
too literally, although undoubtedly the escaped
Indians acted as though they had never been bap-
tized.
Besides Indians fleeing from harsh masters, there
came to Uilcapampa, in 1542, Gomez Perez, Diego
Mendez, and half a dozen other Spanish fugitives,
adherents of Almagro, "rascals," says Calancha,
"worthy of Manco's favor." Obliged by the civil
wars of the conquistador es to flee from the Pizarros,
they were glad enough to find a welcome in Uiticos.
To while away the time they played games and
taught the Inca checkers and chess, as well as
bowling-on-the-green and quoits. Montesinos says
they also taught him to ride horseback and shoot
an arquebus. They took their games very seriously
and occasionally violent disputes arose, one of
which, as we shall see, was to have fatal conse-
quences. They were kept informed by Manco of
what was going on in the viceroyalty. Although
"encompassed within craggy and lofty mountains,"
the Inca was thoroughly cognizant of all those
"revolutions" which might be of benefit to him.
Perhaps the most exciting news that reached
Uiticos in 1544 was in regard to the arrival of the
first Spanish viceroy. He brought the New Laws, a
result of the efforts of the good Bishop Las Casas to
alleviate the sufferings of the Indians. The New
Laws provided, among other things, that all the
1 80 INCA LAND
officers of the crown were to renounce their repartu
mientos or holdings of Indian serfs, and that com-
pulsory personal service was to be entirely abolished.
Repartimientos given to the conquerors were not to
pass to their heirs, but were to revert to the king.
In other words, the New Laws gave evidence that
the Spanish crown wished to be kind to the Indians
and did not approve of the Pizarros. This was good
news for Manco and highly pleasing to the refugees.
They persuaded the Inca to write a letter to the new
viceroy, asking permission to appear before him
and offer his services to the king. The Spanish
refugees told the Inca that by this means he might
some day recover his empire, "or at least the best
part of it." Their object in persuading the Inca to
send such a message to the viceroy becomes appar-
ent when we learn that they "also wrote as from
themselves desiring a pardon for what was past"
and permission to return to Spanish dominions.
Gomez Perez, who seems to have been the active
leader of the little group, was selected to be the
bearer of the letters from the Inca and the refugees.
Attended by a dozen Indians whom the Inca in-
structed to act as his servants and bodyguard, he
left Uilcapampa, presented his letters to the viceroy,
and gave him "a large relation of the State and
Condition of the Inca, and of his true and real
designs to doe him service." "The Vice-king joy-
fully received the news, and granted a full and
ample pardon of all crimes, as desired. And as to
the Inca, he made many kind expressions of love
and respect, truly considering that the Interest of
THE LAST FOUR INCAS i8i
the Inca might be advantageous to him, both in
War and Peace. And with this satisfactory answer
Gomez Perez returned both to the Inca and to his
companions." The refugees were dehghted with the
news and got ready to return to king and country.
Their departure from Uiticos was prevented by a
tragic accident, thus described by Garcilasso.
"The Inca, to humour the Spaniards and enter-
tain himself with them, had given directions for
making a bowHng-green ; where playing one day
with Gomez Perez, he came to have some quarrel
and difference with this Perez about the measure of
a Cast, which often happened between them; for
this Perez, being a person of a hot and fiery brain,
without any judgment or understanding, would
take the least occasion in the world to contend with
and provoke the Inca. . . . Being no longer able to
endure his rudeness, the Inca punched him on the
breast, and bid him to consider with whom he talked.
Perez, not considering in his heat and passion either
his own safety or the safety of his Companions,
lifted up his hand, and with the bowl struck the
Inca so violently on the head, that he knocked him
down. [He died three days later.] The Indians here-
upon, being enraged by the death of their Prince,
joined together against Gomez and the Spaniards,
who fled into a house, and with their Swords in their
hands defended the door; the Indians set fire to the
house, which being too hot for them, they sallied out
into the Marketplace, where the Indians assaulted
them and shot them with their Arrows until they
had killed every man of them ; and then afterwards,
i82 INCA LAND
out of mere rage and fury they designed either to
eat them raw as their custome was, or to burn them
and cast their ashes into the river, that no sign or
appearance might remain of them; but at length,
after some consultation, they agreed to cast their
bodies into the open fields, to be devoured by vul-
ters and birds of the air, which they supposed to be
the highest indignity and dishonour that they could
show to their Corps." Garcilasso concludes: "I
informed myself very perfectly from those chiefs
and nobles who were present and eye-witnesses of
the unparalleled piece of madness of that rash and
hair-brained fool; and heard them tell this story to
my mother and parents with tears in their eyes."
There are many versions of the tragedy.^ They all
agree that a Spaniard murdered the Inca.
1 Another version of this event is that the quarrel was over a game
of chess between the Inca and Diego Mendez, another of the refugees,
who lost his temper and called the Inca a dog. Angered at the tone
and language of his guest, the Inca gave him a blow with his fist.
Diego Mendez thereupon drew a dagger and killed him. A totally
different account from the one obtained by Garcilasso from his
informants is that in a volume purporting to have been dictated to
Friar Marcos by Manco's son, Titu Cusi, twenty years after the
event. I quote from Sir Clements Markham's translation:
"After these Spaniards had been with my Father for several years
in the said town of Viticos they were one day, with much good fellow-
ship, playing at quoits with him; only them, my Father and me, who
was then a boy [ten years old]. Without having any suspicion, al-
though an Indian woman, named Banba, had said that the Spaniards
wanted to murder the Inca, my Father was playing with them as
usual. In this game, just as my Father was raising the quoit to throw,
they all rushed upon him with knives, daggers and some swords.
My Father, feeling himself wounded, strove to make some defence,
but he was one and unarmed, and they were seven fully armed;
he fell to the ground covered with wounds, and they left him for
dead. I, being a little boy, and seeing my Father treated in this
manner, wanted to go where he was to help him. But they turned
THE LAST FOUR INCAS 183
Thus, in 1545, the reign of an attractive and vigor-
ous personality was brought to an abrupt close.
Manco left three young sons, Sayri Tupac, Titu
Cusi, and Tupac Amaru. Sayri Tupac, although he
had not yet reached his majority, became Inca in his
father's stead, and with the aid of regents reigned
for ten years without disturbing his Spanish neigh-
bors or being annoyed by them, unless the reference
in Montesinos to a proposed burning of bridges near
Abancay, under date of 1555, is correct. By a curi-
ous lapse Montesinos ascribes this attempt to the
Inca Manco, who had been dead for ten years. In
1555 there came to Lima a new viceroy, who decided
that it would be safer if young Sayri Tupac were
within reach instead of living in the inaccessible
wilds of Uilcapampa. The viceroy wisely undertook
to accomplish this difficult matter through the
Princess Beatrix Coya, an aunt of the Inca, who was
living in Cuzco. She took kindly to the suggestion
and dispatched to Uiticos a messenger, of the blood
royal, attended by Indian servants. The journey
was a dangerous one; bridges were down and the
furiously upon me, and hurled a lance which only just failed to kill me
also. I was terrified and fled amongst some bushes. They looked for
me, but could not find me. The Spaniards, seeing that my Father
had ceased to breathe, went out of the gate, in high spirits, saying,
'Now that we have killed the Inca we have nothing to fear.' But
at this moment the captain Rimachi Yupanqui arrived with some
Antis, and presently chased them in such sort that, before they
could get very far along a difficult road, they were caught and pulled
from their horses. They all had to suffer very cruel deaths and
some were burnt. Notwithstanding his wounds my Father lived for
three days."
Another version is given by Montesinos in his Anales. It is more
Uke Titu Cusi's.
1 84 INCA LAND
treacherous trails were well-nigh impassable. Sayri
Tupac's regents permitted the messenger to enter
Uilcapampa and deliver the viceroy's invitation,
but were not inclined to believe that it was quite so
attractive as appeared on the surface, even though
brought to them by a kinsman. Accordingly, they
kept the visitor as a hostage and sent a messenger
of their own to Cuzco to see if any foul play could
be discovered, and also to request that one John
Sierra, a more trusted cousin, be sent to treat in this
matter. All this took time.
In 1558 the viceroy, becoming impatient, dis-
patched from Lima Friar Melchior and one John
Betanzos, who had married the daughter of the
unfortunate Inca Atahualpa and pretended to be
very learned in his wife's language. Montesinos
says he was a "great linguist." They started off
quite confidently for Uiticos, taking with them sev-
eral pieces of velvet and damask, and two cups of
gilded silver as presents. Anxious to secure the
honor of being the first to reach the Inca, they trav-
eled as fast as they could to the Chuquichaca bridge,
"the key to the valley of Uiticos." Here they were
detained by the soldiers of the regents. A day or so
later John Sierra, the Inca's cousin from Cuzco,
arrived at the bridge and was allowed to proceed,
while the friar and Betanzos were still detained.
John Sierra was welcomed by the Inca and his
nobles, and did his best to encourage Sayri Tupac to
accept the viceroy's offer. Finally John Betanzos
and the friar were also sent for and admitted to the
presence of the Inca, with the presents which the
THE LAST FOUR INCAS 185
viceroy had sent. Sayri Tupac's first idea was to
remain free and independent as he had hitherto
done, so he requested the ambassadors to depart
immediately with their silver gilt cups. They were
sent back by one of the western routes across the
Apurimac. A few days later, however, after John
Sierra had told him some interesting stories of life
in Cuzco, the Inca decided to reconsider the matter.
His regents had a long debate, observed the flying of
birds and the nature of the weather, but according
to Garcilasso "made no inquiries of the devil." The
omens were favorable and the regents finally decided
to allow the Inca to accept the invitation of the
viceroy.
Sayri Tupac, anxious to see something of the
world, went directly to Lima, traveling in a litter
made of rich materials, carried by relays chosen
from the three hundred Indians who attended him.
He was kindly received by the viceroy, and then
went to Cuzco, where he lodged in his aunt's house.
Here his relatives went to welcome him. "I, my-
self," says Garcilasso, "went in the name of my
Father. I found him then playing a certain game
used amongst the Indians. ... I kissed his hands,
and delivered my Message; he commanded me to
sit down, and presently they brought two gilded
cups of that Liquor, made of Mayz [chicha] which
scarce contained four ounces of Drink; he took them
both, and with his own Hand he gave one of them
to me; he drank, and I pledged him, which as we
have said, is the custom of Civility amongst them.
This Ceremony being past, he asked me, Why I did
i86 INCA LAND
not meet him at Uillcapampa. I answered him,
'Inca, as I am but a Youngman, the Governours
make no account of me, to place me in such Cere-
monies as these! 'How,' repHed the Inca, 'I would
rather have seen you than all the Friers and Fa-
thers in Town.' As I was going away I made him a
submissive bow and reverence, after the manner of
the Indians, who are of his Alliance and Kindred, at
which he was so much pleased, that he embraced me
heartily, and with much affection, as appeared by
his Countenance."
Sayri Tupac now received the sacred Red Fringe
of Inca sovereignty, was married to a princess of
the blood royal, joined her in baptism, and took up
his abode in the beautiful valley of Yucay, a day's
journey northeast of Cuzco, and never returned to
Uiticos. His only daughter finally married a certain
Captain Garcia, of whom more anon. Sayri Tupac
died in 1560, leaving two brothers; the older, Titu
Cusi Yupanqui, illegitimate, and the younger,
Tupac Amaru, his rightful successor, an inexperi-
enced youth.
The throne of Uiticos was seized by Titu Cusl.
The new Inca seems to have been suspicious of the
untimely death of Sayri Tupac, and to have felt
that the Spaniards were capable of more foul play.
So with his half-brother he stayed quietly in Uilca-
pampa. Their first visitor, so far as we know, was
Diego Rodriguez de Figueroa, who wrote an inter-
esting account of Uiticos and says he gave the Inca
a pair of scissors. He was unsuccessful in his efforts
to get Titu Cusi to go to Cuzco. In time there came
YUCAY, LAST .
IE OF SAVRI TUPAC
THE LAST FOUR INCAS 187
an Augustinian missionary, Friar Marcos Garcia,
who, six years after the death of Sayri Tupac, en-
tered the rough country of Uilcapampa, "a land of
moderate wealth, large rivers, and the usual rains,"
whose "forested mountains," says Father Calancha,
"are magnificent." Friar Marcos had a hard jour-
ney. The bridges were down, the roads had been de-
stroyed, and the passes blocked up. The few Indians
who did occasionally appear in Cuzco from Uilca-
pampa said the friar could not get there "unless he
should be able to change himself into a bird." How-
ever, with that courage and pertinacity which have
marked so many missionary enterprises. Friar
Marcos finally overcame all difficulties and reached
Uiticos.
The missionary chronicler says that Titu Cusi
was far from glad to see him and received him
angrily. It worried him to find that a Spaniard had
succeeded in penetrating his retreat. Besides, the
Inca was annoyed to have any one preach against
his "idolatries." Titu Cusi's own story, as written
down by Friar Marcos, does not agree with Calan-
cha's. Anyhow, Friar Marcos built a little church
in a place called Puquiura, where many of the Inca's
people were then living. "He planted crosses in
the fields and on the mountains, these being the
best things to frighten off devils." He "suffered
many insults at the hands of the chiefs and princi-
pal followers of the Inca. Some of them did it to
please the Devil, others to flatter the Inca, and
many because they disliked his sermons, in which
he scolded them for their vices and abominated
i88 INCA LAND
among his converts the possession of four or six
wives. So they punished him in the matter of food,
and forced him to send to Cuzco for victuals. The
Convent sent him hard-tack, which was for him a
most dehcious banquet."
Within a year or so another Augustinian mission-
ary, Friar Diego Ortiz, left Cuzco alone for Uilca-
pampa. He suffered much on the road, but finally
reached the retreat of the Inca and entered his
presence in company with Friar Marcos. "Al-
though the Inca was not too happy to see a new
preacher, he was willing to grant him an entrance
because the Inca . . . thought Friar Diego would
not vex him nor take the trouble to reprove him.
So the Inca gave him a license. They selected the
town of Huarancalla, which was populous and well
located in the midst of a number of other little towns
and villages. There was a distance of two or three
days journey from one Convent to the other. Leav-
ing Friar Marcos in Puquiura, Friar Diego went to
his new establishment and in a short time built a
church, a house for himself, and a hospital, — all
poor buildings made in a short time." He also
started a school for children, and became very popu-
lar as he went about healing and teaching. He had
an easier time than Friar Marcos, who, with less
tact and no skill as a physician, was located nearer
the center of the Inca cult.
The principal shrine of the Inca is described by
Father Calancha as follows: "Close to Vitcos [or
Uiticos] in a village called Chuquipalpa, is a House
of the Sun, and in it a white rock over a spring of
THE LAST FOUR INCAS 189
water where the Devil appears as a visible mani-
festation and was worshipped by those idolators.
This was the principal mochadero of those forested
mountains. The word 'mochadero'^ is the common
name which the Indians apply to their places of
worship. In other words it is the only place where
they practice the sacred ceremony of kissing. The
origin of this, the principal part of their ceremonial,
is that very practice which Job abominates when he
solemnly clears himself of all offences before God
and says to Him: 'Lord, all these punishments and
even greater burdens would I have deserved had I
done that which the blind Gentiles do when the sun
rises resplendent or the moon shines clear and they
exult in their hearts and extend their hands toward
the sun and throw kisses to it,' an act of very grave
iniquity which is equivalent to denying the true
God."
Thus does the ecclesiastical chronicler refer to the
practice in Peru of that particular form of worship
of the heavenly bodies which was also widely spread
in the East, in Arabia, and Palestine and was in-
veighed against by Mohammed as well as the
ancient Hebrew prophets. Apparently this cere-
mony "of the most profound resignation and rever-
ence" was practiced in Chuquipalpa, close to Uiti-
cos, in the reign of the Inca Titu Cusi.
Calancha goes on to say: "In this white stone of
the aforesaid House of the Sun, which is called
Yurac Rumi [meaning, in Quichua, a white rock],
^ A Spanish derivative from the Quichua mucha, "a. kiss." Mu*
chant means "to adore, to reverence, to kiss the hands."
190 INCA LAND
there attends a Devil who is Captain of a legion. He
and his legionaries show great kindness to the Indian
idolators, but great terrors to the Catholics. They
abuse with hideous cruelties the baptized ones who
now no longer worship them with kisses, and many
of the Indians have died from the horrible frights
these devils have given them."
One day, when the Inca and his mother and their
principal chiefs and counselors were away from
Uiticos on a visit to some of their outlying estates,
Friar Marcos and Friar Diego decided to make a
spectacular attack on this particular Devil, who
was at the great "white rock over a spring of water."
The two monks summoned all their converts to
gather at Puquiura, in the church or the neighboring
plaza, and asked each to bring a stick of firewood
in order that they might burn up this Devil who
had tormented them. "An innumerable multitude"
came together on the day appointed. The con-
verted Indians were most anxious to get even with
this Devil who had slain their friends and inflicted
wounds on themselves; the doubters were curious
to see the result; the Inca priests were there to see
their god defeat the Christians' ; while, as may read-
ily be imagined, the rest of the population came to
see the excitement. Starting out from Pucyura they
marched to "the Temple of the Sun, in the village of
Chuquipalpa, close to Uiticos."
Arrived at the sacred palisade, the monks raised
the standard of the cross, recited their orisons, sur-
rounded the spring, the white rock and the Temple
of the Sun, and piled high the firewood. Then, hav-
THE LAST FOUR INCAS 191
ing exorcised the locality, they called the Devil by
all the vile names they could think of, to show their
lack of respect, and finally commanded him never
to return to this vicinity. Calling on Christ and the
Virgin, they applied fire to the wood. "The poor
Devil then fled roaring in a fury, and making the
mountains to tremble."
It took remarkable courage on the part of the two
lone monks thus to desecrate the chief shrine of the
people among whom they were dwelling. It is almost
incredible that in this remote valley, separated from
their friends and far from the protecting hand of the
Spanish viceroy, they should have dared to commit
such an insult to the religion of their hosts. Of
course, as soon as the Inca Titu Cusi heard of it,
he was greatly annoyed. His mother was furious.
They returned immediately to Pucyura. The chiefs
wished to " slay the monks and tear them into small
pieces," and undoubtedly would have done so had it
not been for the regard in which Friar Diego was
held. His skill in curing disease had so endeared
him to the Indians that even the Inca himself dared
not punish him for the attack on the Temple of the
Sun. Friar Marcos, however, who probably origi-
nated the plan, and had done little to gain the good
will of the Indians, did not fare so well. Calancha
says he was stoned out of the province and the Inca
threatened to kill him if he ever should return.
Friar Diego, particularly beloved by those Indians
who came from the fever-stricken jungles in the
lower valleys, was allowed to remain, and finally
became a trusted friend and adviser of Titu Cusi.
192 INCA LAND
One day a Spaniard named Romero, an adventur-
ous prospector for gold, was found penetrating the
mountain valleys, and succeeded in getting permis-
sion from the Inca to see what minerals were there.
He was too successful. Both gold and silver were
found among the hills and he showed enthusiastic
delight at his good fortune. The Inca, fearing that
his reports might encourage others to enter Uilca-
pampa, put the unfortunate prospector to death,
notwithstanding the protestations of Friar Diego.
Foreigners were not wanted in Uilcapampa.
In the year 1570, ten years after the accession of
Titu Cusi to the Inca throne in Uiticos, a new Span-
ish viceroy came to Cuzco. Unfortunately for the
Incas, Don Francisco de Toledo, an indefatigable
soldier and administrator, was excessively bigoted,
narrow-minded, cruel, and pitiless. Furthermore,
Philip II and his Council of the Indies had decided
that it would be worth while to make every effort
to get the Inca out of Uiticos. For thirty-five years
the Spanish conquerors had occupied Cuzco and the
major portion of Peru without having been able to
secure the submission of the Indians who lived in
the province of Uilcapampa. It would be a great
feather in the cap of Toledo if he could induce Titu
Cusi to come and live where he would always be
accessible to Spanish authority.
During the ensuing rainy season, after an unusu-
ally lively party, the Inca got soaked, had a chill,
and was laid low. In the meantime the viceroy had
picked out a Cuzco soldier, one Tilano de Anaya,
who was well liked by the Inca, to try to persuade
THE LAST FOUR INCAS 193
TItu Cusi to come to Cuzco. Tilano was instructed
to go by way of Ollantaytambo and the Chuqui-
chaca bridge. Luck was against him. Titu Cusi's
illness was very serious. Friar Diego, his physician,
had prescribed the usual remedies. Unfortunately,
all the monk's skill was unavailing and his royal
patient died. The "remedies" were held by Titu
Cusi's mother and her counselors to be responsible.
The poor friar had to suffer the penalty of death
"for having caused the death of the Inca."
The third son of Manco, Tupac Amaru, brought
up as a playfellow of the Virgins of the Sun in the
Temple near Uiticos, and now happily married, was
selected to rule the little kingdom. His brows were
decked with the Scarlet Fringe of Sovereignty, but,
thanks to the jealous fear of his powerful illegitimate
brother, his training had not been that of a soldier.
He was destined to have a brief, unhappy existence.
When the young Inca's counselors heard that a
messenger was coming from the viceroy, seven war-
riors were sent to meet him on the road. Tilano was
preparing to spend the night at the Chuquichaca
bridge when he was attacked and killed.
The viceroy heard of the murder of his ambassa-
dor at the same time that he learned of the martyr-
dom of Friar Diego. A blow had been struck at the
very heart of Spanish domination ; if the represent-
atives of the Vice-Regent of Heaven and the mes-
sengers of the viceroy of Philip H were not invio-
lable, then who was safe? On Palm Sunday the
energetic Toledo, surrounded by his council, deter-
mined to make war on the unfortunate young Tupac
194 INCA LAND
Amaru and give a reward to the soldier who would
effect his capture. The council was of the opinion
that "many Insurrections might be raised in that
Empire by this young Heir." "Moreover it was
alledged," says Garcilasso, . . . "That by the Im-
prisonment of the Inca, all that Treasure might be
discovered, which appertained to former kings,
together with that Chain of Gold, which Huayna
Capac commanded to be made for himself to wear
on the great and solemn days of their Festival"!
Furthermore, the "Chain of Gold with the remain-
ing Treasure belonged to his Catholic Majesty by
right of Conquest"! Excuses were not wanting.
The Incas must be exterminated.
The expedition was divided into two parts. One
company was sent by way of Limatambo to Cura-
huasi, to head off the Inca in case he should cross
the Apurimac and try to escape by one of the routes
which had formerly been used by his father, Manco,
in his marauding expeditions. The other company,
under General Martin Hurtado and Captain Garcia,
marched from Cuzco by way of Yucay and Ollantay-
tambo. They were more fortunate than Captain
Villadiego whose force, thirty-five years before,
had been met and destroyed at the pass of Panti-
calla. That was in the days of the active Inca
Manco. Now there was no force defending this
important pass. They descended the Lucumayo to
its junction with the Urubamba and came to the
bridge of Chuquichaca.
The narrow suspension bridge, built of native
fibers, sagged deeply in the middle and swayed so
THE LAST FOUR INCAS 195
threateningly over the gorge of the Urubamba that
only one man could pass it at a time. The rapid river
was too deep to be forded. There were no canoes.
It would have been a difficult matter to have con-
structed rafts, for most of the trees that grow here
are of hard wood and do not float. On the other side
of the Urubamba was young Tupac Amaru, sur-
rounded by his councilors, chiefs, and soldiers. The
first hostile forces which in Pizarro's time had en-
deavored to fight their way into Uilcapampa had
never been allowed by Manco to get as far as this.
His youngest son, Tupac Amaru, had had no experi-
ence in these matters. The chiefs and nobles had
failed to defend the pass; and they now failed to
destroy the Chuquichaca bridge, apparently relying
on their ability to take care of one Spanish soldier at
a time and prevent the Spaniards from crossing the
narrow, swaying structure. General Hurtado was
not taking any such chances. He had brought with
him one or two light mountain field pieces, with
which the raw troops of the Inca were little ac-
quainted. The sides of the valley at this point rise
steeply from the river and the reverberations caused
by gun fire would be fairly terrifying to those who
had never heard anything like it before. A few
volleys from the guns and the arquebuses, and the
Indians fled pellmell in every direction, leaving the
bridge undefended.
Captain Garcia, who had married the daughter
of Sayri Tupac, was sent in pursuit of the Inca.
His men found the road "narrow in the ascent, with
forest on the right, and on the left a ravine of great
196 INCA LAND
depth." It was only a footpath, barely wide enough
for two men to pass. Garcia, with customary Span-
ish bravery, marched at the head of his company.
Suddenly out of the thick forest an Inca chieftain
named Hualpa, endeavoring to protect the flight of
Tupac Amaru, sprang on Garcia, held him so that
he could not get at his sword and endeavored to hurl
him over the cliff. The captain's life was saved by a
faithful Indian servant who was following immedi-
ately behind him, carrying his sword. Drawing it
from the scabbard "with much dexterity and ani-
mation," the Indian killed Hualpa and saved his
master's life.
Garcia fought several battles, took some forts and
succeeded in capturing many prisoners. From them
it was learned that the Inca had " gone inland
toward the valley of Simaponte; and that he was
flying to the country of the Manaries Indians, a
warlike tribe and his friends, where balsas and
canoes were posted to save him and enable him to
escape." Nothing daunted by the dangers of the
jungle nor the rapids of the river, Garcia finally
managed to construct five rafts, on which he put
some of his soldiers. Accompanying them himself,
he descended the rapids, escaping death many
times by swimming, and finally arrived at a place
called Momori, only to find that the Inca, learning
of their approach, had gone farther into the woods.
Garcia followed hard after, although he and his
men were by this time barefooted and suff^ering from
want of food. They finally captured the Inca.
Garcilasso says that Tupac Amaru, "considering
THE LAST FOUR INCAS 197
that he had not People to make resistance, and that
he was not conscious to himself of any Crime, or
disturbance he had done or raised, suffered himself
to be taken; choosing rather to entrust himself in
the hands of the Spaniards, than to perish in those
Mountains with Famine, or be drowned in those
great Rivers. . . . The Spaniards in this manner
seizing on the Inca, and on all the Indian Men and
Women, who were in Company with him, amongst
which was his Wife, two Sons, and a Daughter,
returned with them in Triumph to Cuzco ; to which
place the Vice-King went, so soon as he was in-
formed of the imprisonment of the poor Prince."
A mock trial was held. The captured chiefs were
tortured to death with fiendish brutality. Tupac
Amaru's wife was mangled before his eyes. His
own head was cut off and placed on a pole in the
Cuzco Plaza. His little boys did not long survive.
So perished the last of the Incas, descendants of the
wisest Indian rulers America has ever seen.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE LAST FOUR INCAS
1534. The Inca Manco ascends the throne of his fathers.
1536. Manco flees from Cuzco to Uiticos and Uilcapampa.
1542. Promulgation of the "New Laws."
1545. Murder of Manco and accession of his son Sayri Tupac.
1555. Sayri Tupac goes to Cuzco and Yucay.
1560. Death of Sayri Tupac. His half brother Titu Cusi becomes
Inca.
1566. Friar Marcos reaches Uiticos. Settles in Puquiura.
1566. Friar Diego joins him.
1568-9 (?). They burn the House of the Sun at Yurac Rumi in
Chuquipalpa.
1571. Titu Cusi dies. Friar Diego suffers martyrdom. Tupac
Amaru becomes Inca.
1572. Expedition of General Martin Hurtado and Captain
Garcia de Loyola. Execution of Tupac Amaru.
CHAPTER X
SEARCHING FOR THE LAST INCA CAPITAL
THE events described in the preceding chapter
happened, for the most part, in Uiticos ^ and
Uilcapampa, northwest of Ollantaytambo, about one
hundred miles away from the Cuzco palace of the
Spanish viceroy, in what Prescott calls "the remote
fastnesses of the Andes." One looks in vain for
Uiticos on modern maps of Peru, although several of
the older maps give it. In 1625 "Viticos" is marked
on de Laet's map of Peru as a mountainous province
northeast of Lima and three hundred and fifty miles
northwest of Vilcabamba! This error was copied by
some later cartographers, including Mercator, until
about 1740, when "Viticos" disappeared from all
maps of Peru. The map makers had learned that
there was no such place in that vicinity. Its real
location was lost about three hundred years ago. A
map pubhshed at Nuremberg in 1599 gives " Pincos"
in the "Andes" mountains, a small range west of
" Cusco." This does not seem to have been adopted
by other cartographers ; although a Paris map of 1 739
gives "Picos" in about the same place. Nearly all
the cartographers of the eighteenth century who give
"Viticos" supposed it to be the name of a tribe, e.g.,
"Los Viticos" or "Les Viticos."
* Uiticos is probably derived from Uiticuni, meaning "to withdraw
to a distance."
THE LAST INCA CAPITAL' 199
The largest official map of Peru, the work of that
remarkable explorer, Raimondi, who spent his life
crossing and recrossing Peru, does not contain the
word Uiticos nor any of its numerous spellings,
Viticos, Vitcos, Pitcos, or Biticos. Incidentally, it
may seem strange that Uiticos could ever be written
"Biticos." The Quichua language has no sound of
V. The early Spanish writers, however, wrote the
capital letter U exactly like a capital V. In official
documents and letters Uiticos became Viticos. The
official readers, who had never heard the word pro-
nounced, naturally used the V sound instead of the
U sound. Both V and P easily become B. So Uiticos
became Biticos and Uilcapampa became Vilca-
bamba.
Raimondi's marvelous energy led him to pene-
trate to more out-of-the-way Peruvian villages than
any one had ever done before or is likely to do againc
He stopped at nothing in the way of natural obsta-
cles. In 1865 he went deep into the heart of Uilca-
pampa; yet found no Uiticos. He believed that the
ruins of Choqquequirau represented the residence
of the last Incas. This view had been held by the
French explorer. Count de Sartiges, in 1834, who
believed that Choqquequirau was abandoned when
Sayri Tupac, Manco's oldest son, went to live in
Yucay. Raimondi's view was also held by the
leading Peruvian geographers, including Paz Soldan
in 1877, and by Prefect Nunez and his friends in
1909, at the time of my visit to Choqquequirau.^
The only dissenter was the learned Peruvian his-
* Described in "Across South America."
200 INCA LAND
torian, Don Carlos Romero, who Insisted that the
last Inca capital must be found elsewhere. He
urged the importance of searching for Uiticos in the
valleys of the rivers now called Vilcabamba and
Urubamba. It was to be the work of the Yale
Peruvian Expedition of 191 1 to collect the geo-
graphical evidence which would meet the require-
ments of the chronicles and establish the where-
abouts of the long- lost Inca capital.
That there were undescribed and unidentified
ruins to be found in the Urubamba Valley was
known to a few people in Cuzco, mostly wealthy
planters who had large estates in the province of
Convencion. One told us that he went to Santa Ana
every year and was acquainted with a muleteer
who had told him of some interesting ruins near the
San Miguel bridge. Knowing the propensity of his
countrymen to exaggerate, however, he placed little
confidence in the story and, shrugging his shoulders,
had crossed the bridge a score of times without
taking the trouble to look into the matter. Another,
Senor Pancorbo, whose plantation was in the Vilca-
bamba Valley, said that he had heard vague rumors
of ruins in the valley above his plantation, particu-
larly near Pucyura. If his story should prove to be
correct, then it was likely that this might be the
very Puquiura where Friar Marcos had established
the first church in the "province of Uilcapampa."
But that was ** near " Uiticos and near a village called
Chuquipalpa, where should be found the ruins of a
Temple of the Sun, and in these ruins a "white rock
over a spring of water." Yet neither these friendly
THE LAST INCA CAPITAL 201
planters nor the friends among whom they inquired
had ever heard of Uiticos or a place called Chuqui-
palpa, or of such an interesting rock; nor had they
themselves seen the ruins of which they had heard.
One of Seiior Lomellini's friends, a talkative old
fellow who had spent a large part of his life in
prospecting for mines in the department of Cuzco,
said that he had seen ruins "finer than Choqque-
quirau" at a place called Huayna Picchu; but he
had never been to Choqquequirau. Those who knew
him best shrugged their shoulders and did not seem
to place much confidence in his word. Too often he
had been over-enthusiastic about mines which did
not "pan out." Yet his report resembled that of
Charles Wiener, a French explorer, who, about 1875,
in the course of his wanderings in the Andes, visited
Ollantaytambo. While there he was told that there
were fine ruins down the Urubamba Valley at a
place called "Huaina- Picchu or Matcho-Picchu."
He decided to go down the valley and look for these
ruins. According to his text he crossed the Pass of
Panticalla, descended the Lucumayo River to the
bridge of Choqquechacca, and visited the lower Uru-
bamba, returning by the same route. He published
a detailed map of the valley. To one of its peaks
he gives the name "Huaynapicchu, ele. 1815 m."
and to another " Matchopicchu, ele. 1720 m." His
interest in Inca ruins was very keen. He devotes
pages to Ollantaytambo. He failed to reach Machu
Picchu or to find any ruins of importance in
the Urubamba or Vilcabamba valleys. Could we
hope to be any more successful? Would the rumors
202 TNCA LAND
that had reached us "pan out" as badly as those to
which Wiener had Hstened so eagerly? Since his day,
to be sure, the Peruvian Government had actually
finished a road which led past Machu Picchu. On
the other hand, a Harvard Anthropological Expedi-
tion, under the leadership of Dr. William C. Farra-
bee, had recently been over this road without re-
porting any ruins of importance. They were looking
for savages and not ruins. Nevertheless, if Machu
Picchu was "finer than Choqquequirau" why had
no one pointed it out to them?
To most of our friends in Cuzco the idea that
there could be anything finer than Choqquequi-
rau seemed absurd. They regarded that "cradle of
gold" as "the most remarkable archeological dis-
covery of recent times." They assured us there was
nothing half so good. They even assumed that we
were secretly planning to return thither to dig for
buried treasure! Denials were of no avail. To a peo-
ple whose ancestors made fortunes out of lucky
"strikes," and who themselves have been brought
up on stories of enormous wealth still remaining to
be discovered by some fortunate excavator, the ques-
tion of tesoro — treasure, wealth, riches — is an ever-
present source of conversation. Even the prefect
of Cuzco was quite unable to conceive of my doing
anything for the love of discovery. He was con-
vinced that I should find great riches at Choqque-
quirau — and that I was in receipt of a very large
salary! He refused to believe that the members of
the Expedition received no more than their expenses.
He told me confidentially that Professor Foote
J ,• , V 1 A
5 / o>-— f^^V
THE LAST INCA CAPITAL 203
would sell his collection of insects for at least
$10,000! Peruvians have not been accustomed
to see any one do scientific work except as he was
paid by the government or employed by a railroad
or mining company. We have frequently found our
work misunderstood and regarded with suspicion,
even by the Cuzco Historical Society.
The valley of the Urubamba, or Uilcamayu, as it
used to be called, may be reached from Cuzco in
several ways. The usual route for those going to
Yucay is northwest from the city, over the great
Andean highway, past the slopes of Mt. Seneca.
At Ttica-Ttica (12,000 ft.) the road crosses the
lowest pass at the western end of the Cuzco Basin.
At the last point from which one can see the city of
Cuzco, all true Indians, whether on their way out of
the valley or into it, pause, turn toward the east,
facing the city, remove their hats and mutter a
prayer. I believe that the words they use now are
those of the ''Ave Maria," or some other familiar
orison of the Catholic Church. Nevertheless, the
custom undoubtedly goes far back of the advent of
the first Spanish missionaries. It is probably a relic
of the ancient habit of worshiping the rising sun.
During the centuries immediately preceding the
conquest, the city of Cuzco was the residence of the
Inca himself, that divine individual who was at
once the head of Church and State. Nothing would
have been more natural than for persons coming in
sight of his residence to perform an act of venera-
tion. This in turn might have led those leaving the
204 INCA LAND
city to fall into the same habit at the same point in
the road. I have watched hundreds of travelers pass
this point. None of those whose European costume
proclaimed a white or mixed ancestry stopped to
pray or make obeisance. On the other hand, all
those, without exception, who were clothed in a
native costume, which betokened that they con-
sidered themselves to be Indians rather than whites,
paused for a moment, gazing at the ancient city,
removed their hats, and said a short prayer.
Leaving Ttica-Ttica, we went northward for
several leagues, passed the town of Chlncheros, with
its old Inca walls, and came at length to the edge of
the wonderful valley of Yucay. In its bottom are
great level terraces rescued from the Urubamba
River by the untiring energy of the ancient folk. On
both sides of the valley the steep slopes bear many
remains of narrow terraces, some of which are still
in use. Above them are ^'temporales," fields of
grain, resting like a patch-work quilt on slopes so
steep it seems incredible they could be cultivated.
Still higher up, their heads above the clouds, are
the jagged snow-capped peaks. The whole offers a
marvelous picture, rich in contrast, majestic in pro-
portion. In Yucay once dwelt the Inca Manco's old-
est son, Sayri Tupac, after he had accepted the vice-
roy's invitation to come under Spanish protection.
Here he lived three years and here, in 1560, he died
an untimely death under circumstances which led
his brothers, Titu Cusi and Tupac Amaru, to think
that they would be safer in Uiticos. We spent the
night in Urubamba, the modern capital of the prov-
THE LAST INCA CAPITAL 205
ince, much favored by Peruvians of to-day because
of its abundant water supply, delightful climate,
and rich fruits. Cuzco, 11,000 feet, is too high to
have charming surroundings, but two thousand feet
lower, in the Urubamba Valley, there is everything
to please the eye and delight the horticulturist.
Speaking of horticulturists reminds me of their
enemies. Uru is the Quichua word for caterpillars or
grubs, pampa means flat land. Urubamba is " flat-
land-where-there-are-grubs-or-caterpillars." Had it
been named by people who came up from a warm
region where insects abound, it would hardly have
been so denominated. Only people not accustomed
to land where caterpillars and grubs flourished would
have been struck by such a circumstance. Conse-
quently, the valley was probably named by plateau
dwellers who were working their way down into a
warm region where butterflies and moths are more
common. Notwithstanding its celebrated cater-
pillars, Urubamba's gardens of to-day are full of
roses, lilies, and other brilliant flowers. There are
orchards of peaches, pears, and apples; there are
fields where luscious strawberries are raised for the
Cuzco market. Apparently, the grubs do not get
everything.
The next day down the valley brought us to
romantic Ollantaytambo, described in glowing
terms by Castelnau, Marcou, Wiener, and Squier
many years ago. It has lost none of its charm, even
though Marcou's drawings are imaginary and
Squier's are exaggerated. Here, as at Urubamba,
there are flower gardens and highly cultivated green
206 INCA LAND
fields. The brooks are shaded by willows and pop-
lars. Above them are magnificent precipices crowned
by snow-capped peaks. The village itself was once
the capital of an ancient principality whose history
is shrouded in mystery. There are ruins of curious
gabled buildings, storehouses, "prisons," or "mon-
asteries," perched here and there on well-nigh in-
accessible crags above the village. Below are broad
terraces of unbelievable extent where abundant
crops are still harvested; terraces which will stand
for ages to come as monuments to the energy and
skill of a bygone race. The "fortress" is on a little
hill, surrounded by steep clififs, high walls, and hang-
ing gardens so as to be difficult of access. Centuries
ago, when the tribe which cultivated the rich fields
in this valley lived in fear and terror of their savage
neighbors, this hill ofTered a place of refuge to which
they could retire. It may have been fortified at that
time. As centuries passed in which the land came
under the control of the Incas, whose chief interest
was the peaceful promotion of agriculture, it is
likely that this fortress became a royal garden. The
six great ashlars of reddish granite weighing fifteen
or twenty tons each, and placed in line on the sum-
mit of the hill, were brought from a quarry several
miles away with an immense amount of labor and
pains. They were probably intended to be a record
of the magnificence of an able ruler. Not only could
he command the services of a sufficient number of
men to extract these rocks from the quarry and
carry them up an inclined plane from the bottom
of the valley to the summit of the hill; he had to
MT. VERONICA AND SALAPUNCO, THE GATEWAY TO
UILCAPAMPA
THE LAST INCA CAPITAL 207
supply the men with food. The building of such a
monument meant taking five hundred Indians away
from their ordinary occupations as agriculturists.
He must have been a very good administrator. To
his people the magnificent megaliths were doubtless
a source of pride. To his enemies they were a sym-
bol of his power and might.
A league below Ollantaytambo the road forks.
The right branch ascends a steep valley and crosses
the pass of Panticalla near snow-covered Mt. Veron-
ica. Near the pass are two groups of ruins. One of
them, extravagantly referred to by Wiener as a
"granite palace, whose appearance [appareil] re-
sembles the more beautiful parts of Ollantaytambo,"
was only a storehouse. The other was probably a
tampu, or inn, for the benefit of official travelers.
All travelers in Inca times, even the bearers of
burdens, were acting under official orders. Com-
mercial business was unknown. The rights of per-
sonal property were not understood. No one had
anything to sell; no one had any money to buy it
with. On the other hand, the Incas had an elaborate
system of tax collecting. Two thirds of the produce
raised by their subjects was claimed by the civil and
religious rulers. It was a reasonable provision of the
benevolent despotism of the Incas that inhospitable
regions like the Panticalla Pass near Mt. Veronica
should be provided with suitable rest houses and
storehouses. Polo de Ondegardo, an able and ac-
complished statesman, who was in office in Cuzco
in 1560, says that the food of the chasquis, Inca post
runners, was provided from official storehouses;
2o8 INCA LAND
"those who worked for the Inca's service, or for re-
ligion, never ate at their own expense." In Manco's
day these buildings at Havaspampa probably shel-
tered the outpost which defeated Captain Villadiego.
Before the completion of the river road, about
1895, travelers from Cuzco to the lower Urubamba
had a choice of two routes, one by way of the pass
of Panticalla, followed by Captain Garcia in 1571,
by General Miller in 1835, Castelnau in 1842, and
Wiener in 1875 ; and one by way of the pass between
Mts. Salcantay and So ray, along the Salcantay
River to Huadquina, followed by the Count de
Sartiges in 1834 and Raimondi in 1865. Both of
these routes avoid the highlands between- Mt. Sal-
cantay and Mt. Veronica and the lowlands between
the villages of Piri and Huadquiiia. This region was
in 191 1 undescribed in the geographical literature of
southern Peru. We decided not to use either pass,
but to go straight down the Urubamba river road.
It led us into a fascinating country.
Two leagues beyond Piri, at Salapunco, the road
skirts the base of precipitous cliffs, the begin-
nings of a wonderful mass of granite mountains
which have made Uilcapampa more difficult of
access than the surrounding highlands which are
composed of schists, conglomerates, and limestone.
Salapunco is the natural gateway to the ancient
province, but it was closed for centuries by the com-
bined efforts of nature and man. The Urubamba
River, in cutting its way through the granite range,
forms rapids too dangerous to be passable and
precipices which can be scaled only with great effort
THE LAST INCA CAPITAL 209
and considerable peril. At one time a footpath
probably ran near the river, where the Indians, by
crawling along the face of the cliff and sometimes
swinging from one ledge to another on hanging
vines, were able to make their way to any of the
alluvial terraces down the valley. Another path may
have gone over the cliffs above the fortress, where
we noticed, in various inaccessible places, the re-
mains of walls built on narrow ledges. They were too
narrow and too irregular to have been intended to
support agricultural terraces. They may have been
built to make the cliff more precipitous. They prob-
ably represent the foundations of an old trail. To
defend these ancient paths we found that prehistoric
man had built, at the foot of the precipices, close
to the river, a small but powerful fortress whose
ruins now pass by the name of Salapunco ; sala =
ruins ; punco = gateway. Fashioned after famous
Sacsahuaman and resembling it in the irregular
character of the large ashlars and also by reason
of the salients and reentrant angles which enabled
its defenders to prevent the walls being successfully
scaled, it presents an interesting problem.
Commanding as it does the entrance to the valley
of Torontoy, Salapunco may have been built by
some ancient chief to enable him to levy tribute on
all who passed. My first impression was that the
fortress was placed here, at the end of the temperate
zone, to defend the valleys of Urubamba and Ollan-
taytambo against savage enemies coming up from
the forests of the Amazon. On the other hand, it is
possible that Salapunco was built by the tribes
210 INCA LAND
occupying the fastnesses of Uilcapampa as an out-
post to defend them against enemies coming down
the valley from the direction of Ollantaytambo.
They could easily have held it against a consider-
able force, for it is powerfully built and constructed
with skill. Supplies from the plantations of Toron-
toy, lower down the river, might have reached it
along the path which antedated the present govern-
ment road. Salapunco may have been occupied by
the troops of the Inca Manco when he established
himself in Uiticos and ruled over Uilcapampa. He
could hardly, however, have built a megalithic work
of this kind. It is more likely that he would have
destroyed the narrow trails than have attempted to
hold the fort against the soldiers of Pizarro. Further-
more, Its style and character seem to date it with
the well-known megalithic structures of Cuzco and
Ollantaytambo. This makes it seem all the more
extraordinary that Salapunco could ever have been
built as a defense against Ollantaytambo, unless it
was built by folk who once occupied Cuzco and who
later found a retreat in the canyons below here.
When we first visited Salapunco no megalithic re-
mains had been reported as far down the valley as
this. It never occurred to us that, in hunting for the
remains of such comparatively recent structures as
the Inca Manco had the force and time to build, we
were to discover remains of a far more remote past.
Yet we were soon to find ruins enough to explain why
such a fortress as Salapunco might possibly have
been built so as to defend Uilcapampa against
Ollantaytambo and Cuzco and not those well-
THE LAST INCA CAPITAL 211
known Inca cities against the savages of the Ama-
zon jungles.
Passing Salapunco, we skirted granite cliffs and
precipices and entered a most interesting region,
where we were surprised and charmed by the extent
of the ancient terraces, their length and height, the
presence of many Inca ruins, the beauty of the deep,
narrow valleys, and the grandeur of the snow-clad
mountains which towered above them. Across the
river, near Qquente, on top of a series of terraces, we
saw the extensive ruins of Patallacta {pata = height
or terrace; llacta = town or city), an Inca town
of great importance. It was not known to Rai-
mondi or Paz Soldan, but is indicated on Wiener's
map, although he does not appear to have visited it.
We have been unable to find any reference to it
in the chronicles. We spent several months here in
1 91 5 excavating and determining the character of
the ruins. In another volume I hope to tell more
of the antiquities of this region. At present it must
suffice to remark that our explorations near Pata-
llacta disclosed no "white rock over a spring of
water." None of the place names in this vicinity fit
in with the accounts of Uiticos. Their identity re-
mains a puzzle, although the symmetry of the build-
ings, their architectural idiosyncrasies such as niches,
stone roof-pegs, bar-holds, and eye-bonders, indicate
an Inca origin. At what date these towns and vil-
lages flourished, who built them, why they were de-
serted, we do not yet know ; and the Indians who live
hereabouts are ignorant, or silent, as to their history.
At Torontoy, the end of the cultivated temperate
212 INCA LAND
valley, we found another group of interesting ruins,
possibly once the residence of an Inca chief. In a
cave near by we secured some mummies. The an-
cient wrappings had been consumed by the natives
in an effort to smoke out the vampire bats that
lived in the cave. On the opposite side of the river
are extensive terraces and above them, on a hilltop,
other ruins first visited by Messrs. Tucker and
Hendriksen in 191 1. One of their Indian bearers,
attempting to ford the rapids here with a large sur-
veying instrument, was carried off his feet, swept
away by the strong current, and drowned before
help could reach him.
Near Torontoy is a densely wooded valley called
the Pampa Ccahua. In 191 5 rumors of Andean or
"spectacled" bears having been seen here and of
damage having been done by them to some of the
higher crops, led us to go and investigate. We found
no bears, but at an elevation of 12,000 feet were
some very old trees, heavily covered with flowering
moss not hitherto known to science. Above them
I was so fortunate as to find a wild potato plant, the
source from which the early Peruvians first devel-
oped many varieties of what we incorrectly call the
Irish potato. The tubers were as large as peas.
Mr. Heller found here a strange little cousin of
the kangaroo, a near relative of the coenolestes. It
turned out to be new to science. To find a new
genus of mammalian quadrupeds was an event
which delighted Mr. Heller far more than shooting
a dozen bears. ^
^ On the 191S Expedition Mr. Heller captured twelve new species
THE LAST INCA CAPITAL 213
Torontoy is at the beginning of the Grand Canyon
of the Urubamba, and such a canyon! The river
"road" runs recklessly up and down rock stairways,
blasts its way beneath overhanging precipices,
spans chasms on frail bridges propped on rustic
brackets against granite cliffs. Under dense forests,
wherever the encroaching precipices permitted it,
the land between them and the river was once ter-
raced and cultivated. We found ourselves unexpect-
edly in a veritable wonderland. Emotions came thick
and fast. We marveled at the exquisite pains with
which the ancient folk had rescued incredibly nar-
row strips of arable land from the tumbling rapids.
How could they ever have managed to build a re-
taining wall of heavy stones along the very edge of
the dangerous river, which it is death to attempt to
cross ! On one sightly bend near a foaming waterfall
some Inca chief built a temple, whose walls tantalize
the traveler. He must pass by within pistol shot of
the interesting ruins, unable to ford the intervening
rapids. High up on the side of the canyon, five
thousand feet above this temple, are the ruins of
Corihuayrachina {kori = "gold " ; huayara = " wind " ;
huayrachina ="a threshing-floor where winnowing
takes place." Possibly this was an ancient gold
mine of the Incas. Half a mile above us on another
steep slope, some modern pioneer had recently
cleared the jungle from a fine series of ancient arti-
ficial terraces.
of mammals, but, as Mr. Oldfield Thomas says: "Of all the novelties,
by far the most interesting is the new Marsupial. . . . Members of
the family were previously known from Colombia and Ecuador,"
Mr. Heller's discovery greatly extends the recent range of the
kangaroo family.
214 INCA LAND
On the afternoon of July 23d we reached a hut
called ''La Maquina,'" where travelers frequently
stop for the night. The name comes from the pres-
ence here of some large iron wheels, parts of a
"machine" destined never to overcome the diffi-
culties of being transported all the way to a sugar
estate in the lower valley, and years ago left here to
rust in the jungle. There was little fodder, and
there was no good place for us to pitch our camp,
so we pushed on over the very difficult road, which
had been carved out of the face of a great granite
cliff. Part of the cliff had slid off into the river and
the breach thus made in the road had been repaired
by means of a frail-looking rustic bridge built on
a bracket composed of rough logs, branches, and
reeds, tied together and surmounted by a few inches
of earth and pebbles to make it seem sufficiently
safe to the cautious cargo mules who picked their
way gingerly across it. No wonder "the machine"
rested where it did and gave its name to that part
of the valley.
Dusk falls early in this deep canyon, the sides of
which are considerably over a mile in height. It was
almost dark when we passed a little sandy plain two
or three acres in extent, which in this land of steep
mountains is called a pampa. Were the dwellers on
the pampas of Argentina — where a railroad can go
for 250 miles in a straight line, except for the curva-
ture of the earth — to see this little bit of flood-plain
called Mandor Pampa, they would think some one
had been joking or else grossly misusing a word
which means to them illimitable space with not a
THE ROAD BETWEEN MAQUINA AND MANDOR PAMPA
NEAR MACnU PICCHU
THE LAST INCA CAPITAL 215
hill in sight. However, to the ancient dwellers in
this valley, where level land was so scarce that it
was worth while to build high stone-faced terraces
so as to enable two rows of corn to grow where none
grew before, any little natural breathing space in
the bottom of the canyon is called a pampa.
We passed an ill-kept, grass-thatched hut, turned
off the road through a tiny clearing, and made
our camp at the edge of the river Urubamba on a
sandy beach. Opposite us, beyond the huge granite
boulders which interfered with the progress of the
surging stream, was a steep mountain clothed with
thick jungle. It was an ideal spot for a camp, near
the road and yet secluded. Our actions, however,
aroused the suspicions of the owner of the hut,
Melchor Arteaga, who leases the lands of Mandor
Pampa. He was anxious to know why we did not
stay at his hut like respectable travelers. Our gen-
darme, Sergeant Carrasco, reassured him. They had
quite a long conversation. When Arteaga learned
that we were interested in the architectural remains
of the Incas, he said there were some very good
ruins in this vicinity — in fact, some excellent ones
on top of the opposite mountain, called Huayna
Picchu, and also on a ridge called Machu Picchu.
These were the very places Charles Wiener heard of
at Ollantaytambo in 1875 and had been unatfe to
reach. The story of my experiences on the following
day will be found in a later chapter. Suffice it to say
at this point that the ruins of Huayna Picchu
turned out to be of very little importance, while
those of Machu Picchu, familiar to readers of the
2i6 INCA LAND
"National Geographic Magazine," are as interesting
as any ever found in the Andes.
When I first saw the remarkable citadel of Machu
Picchu perched on a narrow ridge two thousand feet
above the river, I wondered if it could be the place
to which that old soldier, Baltasar de Ocampo, a
member of Captain Garcia's expedition, was re-
ferring when he said: "The Inca Tupac Amaru was
there in the fortress of Pitcos [Uiticos], which is on a
very high mountain, whence the view commanded
a great part of the province of Uilcapampa. Here
there was an extensive level space, with very
sumptuous and majestic buildings, erected with
great skill and art, all the lintels of the doors, the
principal as well as the ordinary ones, being of
marble, elaborately carved." Could it be that
" Picchu" was the modern variant of "Pitcos"? To
be sure, the white granite of which the temples and
palaces of Machu Picchu are constructed might
easily pass for marble. The difficulty about fitting
Ocampo's description to Machu Picchu, however,
was that there was no difference between the lintels
of the doors and the walls themselves. Furthermore,
there is no "white rock over a spring of water"
which Calancha says was "near Uiticos." There is
no Pucyura in this neighborhood. In fact, the can-
yon of the Urubamba does not satisfy the geographi-
cal requirements of Uiticos. Although containing
ruins of surpassing interest, Machu Picchu did not
represent that last Inca capital for which we were
^searching. We had not yet found Manco's palace.
CHAPTER XI
THE SEARCH CONTINUED
MACHU PICCHU is on the border-line be-
tween the temperate zone and the tropics.
Camping near the bridge of San Miguel, below the
ruins, both Mr. Heller and Mr. Cook found inter-
esting evidences of this fact in the flora and fauna.
From the point of view of historical geography, Mr.
Cook's most important discovery was the presence
here of huilca, a tree which does not grow in cold
climates. The Quichua dictionaries tell us huilca is a
"medicine, a purgative." An infusion made from
the seeds of the tree is used as an enema. I am in-
debted to Mr. Cook for calling my attention to two
articles by Mr. W. E. Safi'ord in which it is also
shown that from seeds of the huilca a powder is
prepared, sometimes called cohoha. This powder,
says Mr. Safford, is a narcotic snuff "inhaled
through the nostrils by means of a bifurcated tube."
**A11 writers unite in declaring that it induced a
kind of intoxication or hypnotic state, accompanied
by visions which were regarded by the natives as
supernatural. While under its influence the necro-
mancers, or priests, were supposed to hold communi-
cation with unseen powers, and their incoherent
mutterings were regarded as prophecies or revela-
tions of hidden things. In treating the sick the
physicians made use of it to discover the cause of
the malady or the person or spirit by whom the
2i8 INCA LAND
patient was bewitched." Mr. Safford quotes Las
Casas as saying: "It was an interesting spectacle to
witness how they took it and what they spake. The
chief began the ceremony and while he was engaged
all remained silent. . . . When he had snuffed up the
powder through his nostrils, he remained silent for a
while with his head inclined to one side and his
arms placed on his knees. Then he raised his face
heavenward, uttering certain words which must
have been his prayer to the true God, or to him
whom he held as God; after which all responded,
almost as we do when we say amen; and this they
did with a loud voice or sound. Then they gave
thanks and said to him certain complimentary
things, entreating his benevolence and begging him
to reveal to them what he had seen. He described
to them his vision, saying that the Cemi [spirits]
had spoken to him and had predicted good times or
the contrary, or that children were to be born, or to
die, or that there was to be some dispute with their
neighbors, and other things which might come to his
imagination, all disturbed with that intoxication." ^
Clearly, from the point of view of priests and
soothsayers, the place where huilca was first found
and used in their incantations would be important.
It is not strange to find therefore that the Inca name
of this river was Uilca-mayu: the "huilca river."
1 Mr. Safford says in his article on the "Identity of Cohoba"
(Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences, Sept. 19, 1916):
"The most remarkable fact connected with Piptadenia peregrina, or
'tree-tobacco' is that . . . the source of its intoxicating properties still
remains unknown." One of the bifurcated tubes, " in the first stages
of manufacture," was found at Machu Picchu.
THE SEARCH CONTINUED 219
The pampa on this river where the trees grew would
likely receive the name Uilca pampa. If it became
an important city, then the surrounding region
might be named Uilcapampa after it. This seems
to me to be the most probable origin of the name of
the province. Anyhow it is worth noting the fact
that denizens of Cuzco and Ollantaytambo, coming
down the river in search of this highly prized nar-
cotic, must have found the first trees not far from
Machu Picchu.
Leaving the ruins of Machu Picchu for later
investigation, we now pushed on down the Uru-
bamba Valley, crossed the bridge of San Miguel,
passed the house of Seiior Lizarraga, first of modern
Peruvians to write his name on the granite walls of
Machu Picchu, and came to the sugar-cane fields
of Huadquina. We had now left the temperate zone
and entered the tropics.
At Huadquiiia we were so fortunate as to find
that the proprietress of the plantation, Sefiora Car-
men Vargas, and her children, were spending the
season here. During the rainy winter months they
live in Cuzco, but when summer brings fine weather
they come to Huadquifla to enjoy the free-and-easy
life of the country. They made us welcome, not only
with that hospitality to passing travelers which is
common to sugar estates all over the world, but
gave us real assistance in our explorations. Senora
Carmen's estate covers more than two hundred
square miles. Huadquiiia is a splendid example of
the ancient patriarchal system. The Indians who
come from other parts of Peru to work on the plan-
220 INCA LAND
tation enjoy perquisites and wages unknown else-
where. Those whose home is on the estate regard
Senora Carmen with an affectionate reverence
which she well deserves. All are welcome to bring
her their troubles. The system goes back to the
days when the spiritual, moral, and material welfare
of the Indians was entrusted in encomienda to the
lords of the repartimiento or allotted territory.
Huadquina once belonged to the Jesuits. They
planted the first sugar cane and established the mill.
After their expulsion from the Spanish colonies at
the end of the eighteenth century, Huadquina was
bought by a Peruvian. It was first described in geo-
graphical literature by the Count de Sartiges, who
stayed here for several weeks in 1834 when on his
way to Choqquequirau. He says that the owner of
Huadquiiia "is perhaps the only landed proprietor
in the entire world who possesses on his estates all
the products of the four parts of the globe. In the
different regions of his domain he has wool, hides,
horsehair, potatoes, wheat, corn, sugar, coffee, choc-
olate, coca, many mines of silver-bearing lead, and
placers of gold." Truly a royal principality.
Incidentally it is interesting to note that although
Sartiges was an enthusiastic explorer, eager to visit
undescribed Inca ruins, he makes no mention what-
ever of Machu Picchu. Yet from Huadquina one
can reach Machu Picchu on foot in half a day with-
out crossing the Urubamba River. Apparently the
ruins were unknown to his hosts in 1834. They were
equally unknown to our kind hosts in 191 1. They
scarcely believed the story I told them of the beauty
THE SEARCH CONTINUED 221
and extent of the Inca edifices.^ When m y pho to-
graghs were dpvp^op ed, howeyer^an d they saw wi th
their own eyes the marvelous stonework of the prin-
cipal temples, Sefiora Carmen and her family were
struck dumb with wonder and astonishment. They
could not understand how it was possible that they
should have passed so close to Machu Picchu every
year of their lives since the river road was opened
without knowing what was there. They had seen
a single little building on the crest of the ridge, but
supposed that it was an isolated tower of no great
interest or importance. Their neighbor, Lizarraga,
near the bridge of San Miguel, had reported the
presence of the ruins which he first visited in 1904,
but, like our friends in Cuzco, they had paid little
attention to his stories. We were soon to have a
demonstration of the causes of such skepticism.
Our new friends read with interest my copy of
those paragraphs of Calancha's "Chronicle" which
referred to the location of the last Inca capital.
Learning that we were anxious to discover Uiticos,
a place of which they had never heard, they ordered
the most intelligent tenants on the estate to come in
and be questioned. The best informed of all was a
sturdy mestizo, a trusted foreman, who said that in
a little valley called Ccllumayu, a few hours' jour-
ney down the Urubamba, there were "important
ruins" which had been seen by some of Sefiora
Carmen's Indians. Even more interesting and thrill-
ing was his statement that on a ridge up the Sal-
cantay Valley was a place called Yurak Rumi
» See the illustrations in Chapters XVII and XVIII.
222 INCA LAND
{yurak = "white"; rumi = "stone") where some
very interesting ruins had been found by his work-
men when cutting trees for firewood. We all became
excited over this, for among the paragraphs which I
had copied from Calancha's "Chronicle" was the
statement that "close to Uiticos" is the "white
stone of the aforesaid house of the Sun which is
called Yurak Rumi." Our hosts assured us that this
must be the place, since no one hereabouts had ever
heard of any other Yurak Rumi. The foreman, on
being closely questioned, said that he had seen the
ruins once or twice, that he had also been up the
Urubamba Valley and seen the great ruins at Ollan-
taytambo, and that those which he had seen at
Yurak Rumi were "as good as those at Ollantay-
tambo." Here was a definite statement made by an
eyewitness. Apparently we were about to see that
interesting rock where the last Incas worshiped.
However, the foreman said that the trail thither
was at present impassable, although a small gang of
Indians could open it in less than a week. Our hosts,
excited by the pictures we had shown them of
Machu Picchu, and now believing that even finer
ruins might be found on their own property, im-
mediately gave orders to have the path to Yurak
Rumi cleared for our benefit.
While this was being done, Sefiora Carmen's son,
the manager of the plantation, offered to accompany
us himself to Ccllumayu, where other "important
ruins" had been found, which could be reached in a
few hours without cutting any new trails. Acting
on his assurance that we should not need tent or
THE SEARCH CONTINUED 223
cots, we left our camping outfit behind and followed
him to a small valley on the south side of the Uru-
bamba. We found Ccllumayu to consist of two huts
in a small clearing. Densely wooded slopes rose on all
sides. The manager requested two of the Indian
tenants to act as guides. With them, we plunged
into the thick jungle and spent a long and fatigu-
ing day searching in vain for ruins. That night
the manager returned to Huadquiiia, but Professor
Foote and I preferred to remain in Ccllumayu and
prosecute a more vigorous search on the next day.
We shared a little thatched hut with our Indian
hosts and a score of fat cuys (guinea pigs), the
chief source of the Ccllumayu meat supply. The hut
was built of rough wattles which admitted plenty
of fresh air and gave us comfortable ventilation.
Primitive little sleeping-platforms, also of wattles,
constructed for the needs of short, stocky Indians,
kept us from being overrun by inquisitive cuys, but
could hardly be called as comfortable as our own
folding cots which we had left at Huadquiiia.
The next day our guides were able to point out in
the woods a few piles of stones, the foundations of
oval or circular huts which probably were built by
some primitive savage tribe in prehistoric times.
Nothing further could be found here of ruins, "im-
portant" or otherwise, although we spent three days
at Ccllumayu. Such was our first disillusionment.
On our return to Huadquina, we learned that the
trail to Yurak Rumi would be ready "in a day or
two." In the meantime our hosts became much
interested in Professor Foote's collection of insects.
224 INCA LAND
They brought an unnamed scorpion and informed
us that an orange orchard surrounded by high walls
in a secluded place back of the house was "a great
place for spiders." We found that their statement
was not exaggerated and immediately engaged in
an enthusiastic spider hunt. When these Huad-
quiiia spiders were studied at the Harvard Museum
of Comparative Zoology, Dr. Chamberlain found
among them the representatives of four new genera
and nineteen species hitherto unknown to science.
As a reward of merit, he gave Professor Foote's
name to the scorpion !
Finally the trail to Yurak Rumi was reported
finished. It was with feelings of keen anticipation
that I started out with the foreman to see those
ruins which he had just revisited and now declared
were "better than those of Ollantaytambo." It
was to be presumed that in the pride of discovery he
might have exaggerated their importance. Still it
never entered my head what I was actually to find.
After several hours spent in clearing away the dense
forest growth which surrounded the walls I learned
that this Yurak Rumi consisted of the ruins of a
single little rectangular Inca storehouse. No effort
had been made at beauty of construction. The walls
were of rough, unfashioned stones laid in clay. The
building was without a doorway, although it had
several small windows and a series of ventilating
shafts under the house. The lintels of the windows
and of the small apertures leading into the sub-
terranean shafts were of stone. There were no
windows on the sunny north side or on the ends,
THE SEARCH CONTINUED
22K
but there were four on the south side through which
it would have been possible to secure access to the
stores of maize, potatoes, or other provisions placed
here for safe-keeping. It will be recalled that the
ELEVATION NORTH SIDE
ELEVATION
EITHER END
ELEVATION SOUTH SIDE
SECTION A-B
Ruins of YuRAK RUMtnear Huadquina. Probably an
Inca Storehouse, well ventilated and well drained. Drawn
by A H.Bumstead from measurements and photographs
by Hiram Bingham and H.W.Foote.
Incas maintained an extensive system of public
storehouses, not only in the centers of population,
but also at strategic points on the principal trails.
Yurak Rumi is on top of the ridge between the
Salcantay and Huadquina valleys, probably on an
ancient road which crossed the province of Uilca-
pampa. As such it was interesting; but to compare
it with Ollantaytambo, as the foreman had done,
226 INCA LAND
was to liken a cottage to a palace or a mouse to an
elephant. It seems incredible that anybody having
actually seen both places could have thought for
a moment that one was "as good as the other."
To be sure, the foreman was not a trained observer
and his interest in Inca buildings was probably of
the slightest. Yet the ruins of Ollantaytambo are
so well known and so impressive that even the most
casual traveler is struck by them and the natives
themselves are enormously proud of them. The real
cause of the foreman's inaccuracy was probably his
desire to please. To give an answer which will
satisfy the questioner is a common trait in Peru as
well as in many other parts of the world. Anyhow,
the lessons of the past few days were not lost on us.
We now understood the skepticism which had pre-
vailed regarding Lizarraga's discoveries. It is small
wonder that the occasional stories about Machu
Picchu which had drifted into Cuzco had never
elicited any enthusiasm nor even provoked investiga-
tion on the part of those professors and students in
the University of Cuzco who were interested in visit-
ing the remains of Inca civilization. They knew only
too well the fondness of their countrymen for exag-
geration and their inability to report facts accu-
rately.
Obviously, we had not yet found Uiticos. So, bid-
ding farewell to Seiiora Carmen, we crossed the
Urubamba on the bridge of Colpani and proceeded
down the valley past the mouth of the Lucumayo
and the road from Panticalla, to the hamlet of
Chauillay, where the Urubamba is joined by the
THE SEARCH CONTINUED 227
Vilcabamba River. ^ Both rivers are restricted here
to narrow gorges, through which their waters rush
and roar on their way to the lower valley. A few
rods from Chauillay was a fine bridge. The natives
call it Chuquichaca ! Steel and iron have superseded
the old suspension bridge of huge cables made of
vegetable fiber, with its narrow roadway of wattles
supported by a network of vines. Yet here it was
that in 1572 the military force sent by the viceroy,
Francisco de Toledo, under the command of General
Martin Hurtado and Captain Garcia, found the
forces of the young Inca drawn up to defend Uiti-
cos. It will be remembered that after a brief pre-
liminary fire the forces of Tupac Amaru were routed
without having destroyed the bridge and thus Cap-
tain Garcia was enabled to accomplish that which
had proved too much for the famous Gonzalo Pi-
zarro. Our inspection of the surroundings showed
that Captain Garcia's companion, Baltasar de
Ocampo, was correct when he said that the occu-
pation of the bridge of Chuquichaca "was a measure
of no small importance for the royal force." It
certainly would have caused the Spaniards "great
trouble" if they had had to rebuild it.
We might now have proceeded to follow Garcia's
tracks up the Vilcabamba had we not been anxious
to see the proprietor of the plantation of Santa Ana,
* Since the historical Uilcapampa is not geographically identical
with the modern Vilcabamba, the name applied to this river and the
old Spanish town at its source, I shall distinguish between the two
by using the correct, official spelling for the river and town, viz.,
Vilcabamba; and the phonetic spelling, Uilcapampa, for the place
referred to in the contemporary histories of the Inca Manco.
228 INCA LAND
Don Pedro Duque, reputed to be the wisest and
ablest man in this whole province. We felt he would
be able to offer us advice of prime importance in our
search. So leaving the bridge of Chuquichaca, we
continued down the Urubamba River which here
meanders through a broad, fertile valley, green with
tropical plantations. We passed groves of bananas
and oranges, waving fields of green sugar cane, the
hospitable dwellings of prosperous planters, and
the huts of Indians fortunate enough to dwell in
this tropical "Garden of Eden." The day was hot
and thirst-provoking, so I stopped near some large
orange trees loaded with ripe fruit and asked the
Indian proprietress to sell me ten cents' worth. In
exchange for the tiny silver real she dragged out
a sack containing more than fifty oranges! I was
fain to request her to permit us to take only as many
as our pockets could hold; but she seemed so sur-
prised and pained, we had to fill our saddle-bags as
well.
At the end of the day we crossed the Urubamba
River on a fine steel bridge and found ourselves in
the prosperous little town of Quillabamba, the pro-
vincial capital. Its main street was lined with well-
filled shops, evidence of the fact that this is one
of the principal gateways to the Peruvian rubber
country which, with the high price of rubber then
prevailing, 191 1, was the scene of unusual activity.
Passing through Quillabamba and up a slight hill
beyond it, we came to the long colonnades of the
celebrated sugar estate of Santa Ana founded by the
Jesuits, where all explorers who have passed this
THE SEARCH CONTINUED 229
way since the days of Charles Wiener have been
entertained. He says that he was received here
"with a thousand signs of friendship" {'^mille te-
moignages d'amitW). We were received the same
way. Even in a region where we had repeatedly
received valuable assistance from government offi-
cials and generous hospitality from private indi-
viduals, our reception at Santa Ana stands out as
particularly delightful.
Don Pedro Duque took great interest in enabling
us to get all possible information about the little-
known region into which we proposed to penetrate.
Born in Colombia, but long resident in Peru, he was
a gentleman of the old school, keenly interested, not
only in the administration and economic progress of
his plantation, but also in the intellectual movements
of the outside world. He entered with zest into our
historical-geographical studies. The name Uiticos
was new to him, but after reading over with us our
extracts from the Spanish chronicles he was sure
that he could help us find it. And help us he did.
Santa Ana is less than thirteen degrees south of the
equator; the elevation is barely 2000 feet; the "win-
ter" nights are cool; but the heat in the middle of
the day is intense. Nevertheless, our host was so
energetic that as a result of his efforts a number of
the best-informed residents were brought to the con-
ferences at the great plantation house. They told
all they knew of the towns and valleys where the last
four Incas had found a refuge, but that was not
much. They all agreed that "if only Senor Lopez
Torres were alive he could have been of great
230 INCA LAND
service" to us, as "he had prospected for mines and
rubber in those parts more than any one else, and
had once seen some Inca ruins in the forest!" Of
Uiticos and Chuquipalpa and most of the places
mentioned in the chronicles, none of Don Pedro's
friends had ever heard. It was all rather discourag-
ing, until one day, by the greatest good fortune,
there arrived at Santa Ana another friend of Don
Pedro's, the teniente gobernador of the village of
Lucma in the valley of Vilcabamba — a crusty old
fellow named Evaristo Mogrovejo. His brother, Pio
Mogrovejo, had been a member of the party of
energetic Peruvians who, in 1884, had searched for
buried treasure at Choqquequirau and had left
their names on its walls. Evaristo Mogrovejo could
understand searching for buried treasure, but he was
totally unable otherwise to comprehend our desire
to find the ruins of the places mentioned by Father
Calancha and the contemporaries of Captain Garcia.
Had we first met Mogrovejo in Lucma he would
undoubtedly have received us with suspicion and
done nothing to further our quest. Fortunately for
us, his official superior was the sub-prefect of the
province of Convencion, lived at Quillabamba near
Santa Ana, and was a friend of Don Pedro's. The
sub-prefect had received orders from his own official
superior, the prefect of Cuzco, to take a personal
interest in our undertaking, and accordingly gave
particular orders to Mogrovejo to see to it that we
were given every facility for finding the ancient
ruins and identifying the places of historic interest.
Although Mogrovejo declined to risk his skin in the
THE SEARCH CONTINUED 231
savage wilderness of Conservidayoc, he carried out
his orders faithfully and was ultimately of great
assistance to us.
Extremely gratified with the result of our confer-
ences in Santa Ana, yet reluctant to leave the de-
lightful hospitality and charming conversation of our
gracious host, we decided to go at once to Lucma,
taking the road on the southwest side of the Uru-
bamba and using the route followed by the pack
animals which carry the precious cargoes of coca
and aguardiente from Santa Ana to Ollantaytambo
and Cuzco. Thanks to Don Pedro's energy, we made
an excellent start; not one of those meant-to-be-
early but really late-in-the-morning departures so
customary in the Andes.
We passed through a region which originally had
been heavily forested, had long since been cleared,
and was now covered with bushes and second
growth. Near the roadside I noticed a considerable
number of land shells grouped on the under-side of
overhanging rocks. As a boy in the Hawaiian Islands
I had spent too many Saturdays collecting those
beautiful and fascinating mollusks, which usually
prefer the trees of upland valleys, to enable me to
resist the temptation of gathering a large number of
such as could easily be secured. None of the snails
were moving. The dry season appears to be their
resting period. Some weeks later Professor Foote
and I passed through Maras and were interested to
notice thousands of land shells, mostly white in
color, on small bushes, where they seemed to be
quietly sleeping. They were fairly "glued to their
232 INCA LAND
resting places"; clustered so closely in some cases as
to give the stems of the bushes a ghostly appearance.
Our present objective was the valley of the river
Vilcabamba. So far as we have been able to learn,
only one other explorer had preceded us — the
distinguished scientist Raimondi. His map of the
Vilcabamba is fairly accurate. He reports the pres-
ence here of mines and minerals, but with the excep-
tion of an "abandoned tampu" at Maracnyoc ("the
place which possesses a millstone"), he makes no
mention of any ruins. Accordingly, although it
seemed from the story of Baltasar de Ocampo and
Captain Garcia's other contemporaries that we were
now entering the valley of Uiticos, it was with feel-
ings of considerable uncertainty that we proceeded
on our quest. It may seem strange that we should
have been in any doubt. Yet before our visit nearly
all the Peruvian historians and geographers except
Don Carlos Romero still believed that when the
Inca Manco fled from Pizarro he took up his resi-
dence at Choqquequirau in the Apurimac Valley.
The word choqquequirau means "cradle of gold"
and this lent color to the legend that Manco had
carried off with him from Cuzco great quantities of
gold utensils and much treasure, which he deposited
in his new capital. Raimondi, knowing that Manco
had "retired to Uilcapampa," visited both the
present villages of Vilcabamba and Pucyura and
saw nothing of any ruins. He was satisfied that
Choqquequirau was Manco's refuge because it was
far enough from Pucyura to answer the requirements
of Calancha that it was " two or three days' journey "
from Uilcapampa to Puquiura.
THE SEARCH CONTINUED 233
A new road had recently been built along the
river bank by the owner of the sugar estate at Pal-
taybamba, to enable his pack animals to travel more
rapidly. Much of it had to be carved out of the face
of a solid rock precipice and in places it pierces the
cliffs in a series of little tunnels. My gendarme
missed this road and took the steep old trail over
the cliffs. As Ocampo said in his story of Captain
Garcia's expedition, "the road was narrow in the
ascent with forest on the right, and on the left a
ravine of great depth." We reached Paltaybamba
about dusk. The owner, Seiior Jos4 S. Pancorbo,
was absent, attending to the affairs of a rubber
estate in the jungles of the river San Miguel. The
plantation of Paltaybamba occupies the best lands
in the lower Vilcabamba Valley, but lying, as it does,
well off the main highway, visitors are rare and our
arrival was the occasion for considerable excitement.
We were not unexpected, however. It was Seiior
Pancorbo who had assured us in Cuzco that we
should find ruins near Pucyura and he had told his
major-domo to be on the look-out for us. We had a
long talk with the manager of the plantation and his
friends that evening. They had heard little of any
ruins in this vicinity, but repeated one of the stories
we had heard in Santa Ana, that way off somewhere
in the montana there was "an Inca city." All agreed
that it was a very difficult place to reach ; and none
of them had ever been there. In the morning the
manager gave us a guide to the next house up the
valley, with orders that the man at that house
should relay us to the next, and so on. These people,
234 INCA LAND
all tenants of the plantation, obligingly carried out
their orders, although at considerable inconvenience
to themselves.
The Vilcabamba Valley above Paltaybamba is
very picturesque. There are high mountains on
either side, covered with dense jungle and dark green
foliage, in pleasing contrast to the light green of the
fields of waving sugar cane. The valley is steep, the
road is very winding, and the torrent of the Vilca-
bamba roars loudly, even in July. What it must be
like in February, the rainy season, we could only
surmise. About two leagues above Paltaybamba,
at or near the spot called by Raimondi "Marac-
nyoc," an "abandoned tampu,'' we came to some
old stone walls, the ruins of a place now called
Huayara or "Hoyara." I believe them to be the
ruins of the first Spanish settlement in this region,
a place referred to by Ocampo, who says that the
fugitives of Tupac Amaru's army were "brought
back to the valley of Hoyara," where they were
"settled in a large village, and a city of Spaniards
was founded. . . . This city was founded on an
extensive plain near a river, with an admirable
climate. From the river channels of water were
taken for the service of the city, the water being
very good." The water here is excellent, far better
than any in the Cuzco Basin. On the plain near the
river are some of the last cane fields of the planta-
tion of Paltaybamba. "Hoyara" was abandoned
after the discovery of gold mines several leagues
farther up the valley, and the Spanish "city" was
moved to the village now called Vilcabamba.
THE SEARCH CONTINUED 235
Our next stop was at Lucma, the home of T entente
Gobernador Mogrovejo. The village of Lucma is an
irregular cluster of about thirty thatched-roofed
huts. It enjoys a moderate amount of prosperity
due to the fact of its being located near one of the
gateways to the interior, the pass to the rubber
estates in the San Miguel Valley. Here are "houses
of refreshment" and two shops, the only ones in the
region. One can buy cotton cloth, sugar, canned
goods and candles. A picturesque belfry and a small
church, old and somewhat out of repair, crown the
small hill back of the village. There is little level
land, but the slopes are gentle, and permit a con-
siderable amount of agriculture.
There was no evidence of extensive terracing.
Maize and alfalfa seemed to be the principal crops.
Evaristo Mogrovejo lived on the little plaza around
which the houses of the more important people were
grouped. He had just returned from Santa Ana by
the way of Idma, using a much worse trail than that
over which we had come, but one which enabled him
to avoid passing through Paltaybamba, with whose
proprietor he was not on good terms. He told us
stories of misadventures which had happened to
travelers at the gates of Paltaybamba, stories highly
reminiscent of feudal days in Europe, when pro-
vincial barons were accustomed to lay tribute on all
who passed.
We offered to pay Mogrovejo a gratificacion of a
sol, or Peruvian silver dollar, for every ruin to which
he would take us, and double that amount if the
locality should prove to contain particularly inter-
236 INCA LAND
esting ruins. This aroused all his business instincts.
He summoned his alcaldes and other well-informed
Indians to appear and be interviewed. They told
us there were "many ruins" hereabouts! Being a
practical man himself, Mogrovejo had never taken
any interest in ruins. Now he saw the chance not
only to make money out of the ancient sites, but
also to gain official favor by carrying out with un-
exampled vigor the orders of his superior, the sub-
prefect of Quillabamba. So he exerted himself to the
utmost in our behalf.
The next day we were guided up a ravine to the
top of the ridge back of Lucma. This ridge divides
the upper from the lower Vilcabamba. On all sides
the hills rose several thousand feet above us. In
places they were covered with forest growth, chiefly
above the cloud line, where daily moisture encour-
ages vegetation. In some of the forests on the more
gentle slopes recent clearings gave evidence of en-
terprise on the part of the present inhabitants of
the valley. After an hour's climb we reached what
were unquestionably the ruins of Inca structures,
on an artificial terrace which commands a magnifi-
cent view far down toward Paltaybamba and the
bridge of Chuquichaca, as well as in the opposite
direction. The contemporaries of Captain Garcia
speak of a number of forts or piicards which had
to be stormed and captured before Tupac Amaru
could be taken prisoner. This was probably one of
those "fortresses." Its strategic position and the
ease with which it could be defended point to such
an interpretation. Nevertheless this ruin did not fit
THE SEARCH CONTINUED 237
the "fortress of Pitcos," nor the "House of the Sun "
near the "white rock over the spring." It is called
Incahuaracana, "the place where the Inca shoots
with a sling."
Incahuaracana consists of two typical Inca edi-
fices — one of two rooms, about 70 by 20 feet, and
the other, very long and narrow, 150 by 11 feet.
The walls, of unhewn stone laid in clay, were not
particularly well built and resemble in many re-
spects the ruins at Choqquequirau. The rooms of
the principal house are without windows, although
each has three front doors and is lined with niches,
four or five on a side. The long, narrow building was
divided into three rooms, and had several front
doors. A force of two hundred Indian soldiers could
have slept in these houses without unusual crowding.
We left Lucma the next day, forded the Vilca-
bamba River and soon had an uninterrupted view
up the valley to a high, truncated hill, its top partly
covered with a scrubby growth of trees and bushes,
its sides steep and rocky. We were told that the
name of the hill was "Rosaspata," a word of mod-
ern hybrid origin — pata being Quichua for "hill,"
while rosas is the Spanish word for "roses." Mo-
grovejo said his Indians told him that on the "Hill
of Roses" there were more ruins.
At the foot of the hill, and across the river, Is the
village of Pucyura. When Raimondi was here in
1865 it was but a "wretched hamlet with a paltry
chapel." To-day it is more prosperous. There is a
large public school here, to which children come from
villages many miles away. So crowded is the school
238 INCA LAND
that in fine weather the children sit on benches out
of doors. The boys all go barefooted. The girls wear
high boots. I once saw them reciting a geography
lesson, but I doubt if even the teacher knew whether
or not this was the site of the first school in this
whole region. For it was to "Puquiura" that Friar
Marcos came in 1566. Perhaps he built the ''mez-
guina capilla'' which Raimondi scorned. If this were
the " Puquiura" of Friar Marcos, then Uiticos must
be near by, for he and Friar Diego walked with
their famous procession of converts from * ' Puqui-
ura" to the House of the Sun and the "white rock"
which was "close to Uiticos."
Crossing the Vilcabamba on a footbridge that
afternoon, we came immediately upon some old
ruins that were not Incaic. Examination showed
that they were apparently the remains of a very
crude Spanish crushing mill, obviously intended
to pulverize gold-bearing quartz on a considerable
scale. Perhaps this was the place referred to by
Ocampo, who says that the Inca Titu Cusi attended
masses said by his friend Friar Diego in a chapel
which is "near my houses and on my own lands, in
the mining district of Puquiura, close to the ore-
crushing mill of Don Christoval de Albornoz, Pre-
centor that was of the Cuzco Cathedral."
One of the millstones is five feet in diameter and
more than a foot thick. It lay near a huge, flat rock
of white granite, hollowed out so as to enable the
millstone to be rolled slowly around in a hollow
trough. There was also a very large Indian mortar
and pestle, heavy enough to need the services of
THE SEARCH CONTINUED 239
four men to work it. The mortar was merely the
hollowed-out top of a large boulder which projected
a few inches above the surface of the ground. The
pestle, four feet in diameter, was of the character-
istic rocking-stone shape used from time immemo-
rial by the Indians of the highlands for crushing
maize or potatoes. Since no other ruins of a Span-
ish quartz-crushing plant have been found in this
vicinity, it is probable that this once belonged to
Don Christoval de Albornoz.
Near the mill the Tincochaca River joins the Vil-
cabamba from the southeast. Crossing this on a
footbridge, I followed Mogrovejo to an old and very
dilapidated structure in the saddle of the hill on
the south side of Rosaspata. They called the place
Uncapampa, or Inca pampa. It is probably one of
the forts stormed by Captain Garcia and his men in
1 57 1. The ruins represent a single house, 166 feet
long by 33 feet wide. If the house had partitions
they long since disappeared. There were six door-
ways in front, none on the ends or in the rear walls.
The ruins resembled those of Incahuaracana, near
Lucma. The walls had originally been built of rough
stones laid in clay. The general finish was extremely
rough. The few niches, all at one end of the struc-
ture, were irregular, about two feet in width and a
little more than this in height. The one corner of
the building which was still standing had a height
of about ten feet. Two hundred Inca soldiers could
have slept here also.
Leaving Uncapampa and following my guides, I
climbed up the ridge and followed a path along
240 INCA LAND
its west side to the top of Rosaspata. Passing some
ruins much overgrown and of a primitive character,
I soon found myself on a pleasant pampa near the
top of the mountain. The view from here com-
mands "a great part of the province of Uilca-
pampa." It is remarkably extensive on all sides; to
the north and south are snow-capped mountains,
to the east and west, deep verdure-clad valleys.
Furthermore, on the north side of the pampa is an
extensive level space with a very sumptuous and
majestic building "erected with great skill and art,
all the lintels of the doors, the principal as well as
the ordinary ones," being of white granite elabo-
rately cut. At last we had found a place which
seemed to meet most of the requirements of Ocam-
po's description of the "fortress of Pitcos." To be
sure it was not of "marble," and the lintels of the
doors were not "carved," in our sense of the word.
They were, however, beautifully finished, as may be
seen from the illustrations, and the white granite
might easily pass for marble. If only we could find
in this vicinity that Temple of the Sun which
Calancha said was "near" Uiticos, all doubts would
be at an end.
That night we stayed at Tincochaca, in the hut of
an Indian friend of Mogrovejo. As usual we made
inquiries. Imagine our feelings when in response to
the oft-repeated question he said that in a neighbor-
ing valley there was a great white rock over a spring
of water! If his story should prove to be true our
quest for Uiticos was over. It behooved us to make
a very careful study of what we had found.
CHAPTER XII
THE FORTRESS OF UITICOS AND THE HOUSE
OF THE SUN
WHEN the viceroy, Toledo, determined to con-
quer that last stronghold of the Incas where
for thirty-five years they had defied the supreme
power of Spain, he offered a thousand dollars a
year as a pension to the soldier who would capture
Tupac Amaru. Captain Garcia earned the pension,
but failed to receive it; the "manana habit" was
already strong in the days of Philip II. So the
doughty captain filed a collection of testimonials
with Philip's Royal Council of the Indies. Among
these is his own statement of what happened on the
campaign against Tupac Amaru. In this he says:
"and having arrived at the principal fortress, Guay-
napucara ["the young fortress"], which the Incas
had fortified, we found it defended by the Prince
Philipe Quispetutio, a son of the Inca Titu Cusi,
with his captains and soldiers. It is on a high emi-
nence surrounded with rugged crags and jungles,
very dangerous to ascend and almost impregnable.
Nevertheless, with my aforesaid company of sol-
diers I went up and gained the fortress, but only
with the greatest possible labor and danger. Thus
we gained the province of Uilcapampa." The
viceroy himself says this important victory was
due to Captain Garcia's skill and courage in storm-
242 INCA LAND
ing the heights of Guaynapucara, "on Saint John
the Baptist's day, in 1572."
The "Hill of Roses" is indeed "a high eminence
surrounded with rugged crags." The side of easiest
approach is protected by a splendid, long wall, built
so carefully as not to leave a single toe-hold for
active besiegers. The barracks at Uncapampa could
have furnished a contingent to make an attack on
that side very dangerous. The hill is steep on all
sides, and it would have been extremely easy for a
small force to have defended it. It was undoubtedly
"almost impregnable." This was the feature Cap-
tain Garcia was most likely to remember.
On the very summit of the hill are the ruins of a
partly enclosed compound consisting of thirteen
or fourteen houses arranged so as to form a rough
square, with one large and several small courtyards.
The outside dimensions of the compound are about
160 feet by 145 feet. The builders showed the
familiar Inca sense of symmetry in arranging the
houses. Due to the wanton destruction of many
buildings by the natives in their efforts at treasure-
hunting, the walls have been so pulled down that
it is impossible to get the exact dimensions of the
buildings. In only one of them could we be sure
that there had been any niches.
Most interesting of all is the structure which
caught the attention of Ocampo and remained fixed
in his memory. Enough remains of this building to
give a good idea of its former grandeur. It was
indeed a fit residence for a royal Inca, an exile from
Cuzco. It is 245 feet by 43 feet. There were no
THE FORTRESS OF UITICOS 243
windows, but it was lighted by thirty doorways,
fifteen in front and the same in back. It contained
ten large rooms, besides three hallways running
from front to rear. The walls were built rather
hastily and are not noteworthy, but the principal
entrances, namely, those leading to each hall, are
particularly well made; not, to be sure, of "marble"
as Ocampo said — there is no marble in the prov-
ince — but of finely cut ashlars of white granite.
The lintels of the principal doorways, as well as of
the ordinary ones, are also of solid blocks of white
granite, the largest being as much as eight feet in
length. The doorways are better than any other
ruins in Uilcapampa except those of Machu Picchu,
thus justifying the mention of them made by
Ocampo, who lived near here and had time to
become thoroughly familiar with their appearance.
Unfortunately, a very small portion of the edifice
was still standing. Most of the rear doors had been
filled up with ashlars, in order to make a continuous
fence. Other walls had been built from the ruins, to
keep cattle out of the cultivated pampa. Rosaspata
is at an elevation which places it on the borderland
between the cold grazing country, with its root
crops and sublimated pigweeds, and the temperate
zone where maize flourishes.
On the south side of the hilltop, opposite the long
palace, is the ruin of a single structure, 78 feet long
and 35 feet wide, containing doors on both sides, no
niches and no evidence of careful workmanship.
It was probably a barracks for a company of sol-
diers.
244 INCA LAND
The intervening " pampa*' might have been the
scene of those games of bowls and quoits, which
were played by the Spanish refugees who fled from
the wrath of Gonzalo Pizarro and found refuge with
the Inca Manco. Here may have occurred that
fatal game when one of the players lost his temper
and killed his royal host.
Our excavations in 191 5 yielded a mass of rough
potsherds, a few Inca whirl-bobs and bronze shawl
pins, and also a number of iron articles of European
origin, heavily rusted — horseshoe nails, a buckle, a
pair of scissors, several bridle or saddle ornaments,
and three Jew's-harps. My first thought was that
modern Peruvians must have lived here at one time,
although the necessity of carrying all water supplies
up the hill would make this unlikely. Furthermore,
the presence here of artifacts of European origin
does not of itself point to such a conclusion. In the
first place, we know that Manco was accustomed to
make raids on Spanish travelers between Cuzco and
Lima. He might very easily have brought back
with him a Spanish bridle. In the second place the
musical instruments may have belonged to the
refugees, who might have enjoyed whiling away
their exile with melancholy twanging. In the third
place the retainers of the Inca probably visited the
Spanish market in Cuzco, where there would have
been displayed at times a considerable assortment
of goods of European manufacture. Finally Rodri-
guez de Figueroa speaks expressly of two pairs of
scissors he brought as a present to Titu Cusi. That
no such array of European artifacts has been turned
THE FORTRESS OF UITICOS 245
up in the excavations of other important sites in the
province of Uilcapampa would seem to indicate
that they were abandoned before the Spanish Con-
quest or else were occupied by natives who had no
means of accumulating such treasures.
Thanks to Ocampo's description of the fortress
which Tupac Amaru was occupying in 1572 there
is no doubt that this was the palace of the last Inca.
Was it also the capital of his brothers, Titu Cusi and
Sayri Tupac, and his father, Manco? It is astonish-
ing how few details we have by which the Uiticos
of Manco may be identified. His contemporaries
are strangely silent. When he left Cuzco and sought
refuge "in the remote fastnesses of the Andes,"
there was a Spanish soldier, Cieza de Leon, in the
armies of Pizarro who had a genius for seeing and
hearing interesting things and writing them down,
and who tried to interview as many members of
the royal family as he could ; — Manco had thir-
teen brothers. Ciezo de Leon says he was much dis-
appointed not to be able to talk with Manco himself
and his sons, but they had "retired into the prov-
inces of Uiticos, which are in the most retired part
of those regions, beyond the great Cordillera of the
Andes." ^ The Spanish refugees who died as the
result of the murder of Manco may not have known
how to write. Anyhow, so far as we can learn they
left no accounts from which any one could identify
his residence.
^ In those days the term " Andes" appears to have been very lim-
ited in scope, and was applied only to the high range north of Cuzco
where lived the tribe called Antis. Their name was given to the range,
its culminating point was Mt. Salcantay.
246 INCA LAND
Titu Cusi gives no definite clue, but the activities
of Friar Marcos and Friar Diego, who came to be
his spiritual advisers, are fully described by Ca-
lancha. It will be remembered that Calancha re-
marks that "close to Uiticos in a village called Chu-
quipalpa, is a House of the Sun and in it a white
stone over a spring of water." Our guide had told
us there was such a place close to the hill of Rosas-
pata.
On the day after making the first studies of the
"Hill of Roses," I followed the impatient Mogro-
vejo — whose object was not to study ruins but to
earn dollars for finding them — and went over the
hill on its northeast side to the Valley of Los
Andenes ("the Terraces "). Here, sure enough, was a
large, white granite boulder, flattened on top, which
had a carved seat or platform on its northern side.
Its west side covered a cave in which were several
niches. This cave had been walled in on one side.
When Mogrovejo and the Indian guide said there
was a manantial de agua ("spring of water") near
by, I became greatly interested. On investigation,
however, the "spring" turned out to be nothing but
part of a small irrigating ditch. {Manantial means
"spring"; it also means "running water"). But
the rock was not "over the water." Although this
was undoubtedly one of those huacas, or sacred
boulders, selected by the Incas as the visible repre-
sentations of the founders of a tribe and thus was
an important accessory to ancestor worship, it was
not the Yurak Rumi for which we were looking.
Leaving the boulder and the ruins of what pos-
NORTHEAST FACE OF YURAK RUMI
THE HOUSE OF THE SUN 247
sibly had been the house of its attendant priest,
we followed the little water course past a large
number of very handsomely built agricultural ter-
races, the first we had seen since leaving Machu
Picchu and the most important ones in the valley.
So scarce are andenes in this region and so note-
worthy were these in particular that this vale has
been named after them. They were probably built
under the direction of Manco. Near them are a
number of carved boulders, huacas. One had an
intihuatana, or sundial nubbin, on it; another was
carved in the shape of a saddle. Continuing, we
followed a trickling stream through thick woods
until we suddenly arrived at an open place called
Nusta Isppana. Here before us was a great white
rock over a spring. Our guides had not misled us.
Beneath the trees were the ruins of an Inca temple,
flanking and partly enclosing the gigantic granite
boulder, one end of which overhung a small pool of
running water. When we learned that the present
name of this immediate vicinity is Chuquipalta our
happiness was complete.
It was late on the afternoon of August 9, 191 1,
when I first saw this remarkable shrine. Densely
wooded hills rose on every side. There was not a
hut to be seen; scarcely a sound to be heard. It
was an ideal place for practicing the mystic cere-
monies of an ancient cult. The remarkable aspect
of this great boulder and the dark pool beneath
its shadow had caused this to become a place of
worship. Here, without doubt, was "the principal
mochadero of those forested mountains." It is still
248 INCA LAND
venerated by the Indians of the vicinity. At last
we had found the place where, in the days of Titu
Cusi, the Inca priests faced the east, greeted the
rising sun, "extended their hands toward it," and
"threw kisses to it," "a ceremony of the most pro-
found resignation and reverence." We may imag-
ine the sun priests, clad in their resplendent robes
of office, standing on the top of the rock at the
edge of its steepest side, their faces lit up with the
rosy light of the early morning, awaiting the mo-
ment when the Great Divinity should appear above
the eastern hills and receive their adoration. As it
rose they saluted it and cried: "O Sun! Thou who
art in peace and safety, shine upon us, keep us from
sickness, and keep us in health and safety. O Sun!
Thou who hast said let there be Cuzco and Tampu,
grant that these children may conquer all other
people. We beseech thee that thy children the Incas
may be always conquerors, since it is for this that
thou hast created them."
It was during Titu Cusi's reign that Friars Marcos
and Diego marched over here with their converts
from Puquiura, each carrying a stick of firewood.
Calancha says the Indians worshiped the water as
a divine thing, that the Devil had at times shown
himself in the water. Since the surface of the little
pool, as one gazes at it, does not reflect the sky, but
only the overhanging, dark, mossy rock, the water
looks black and forbidding, even to unsuperstitious
Yankees. It is easy to believe that simple-minded
Indian worshipers in this secluded spot could readily
believe that they actually saw the Devil appearing
PLAN OF THE RUINS
OF THE
TEMPLE OF THE SUN
AT
NUSTA ISPPANA
FORMERLY ^TJRAK RUMl IN CHUOUIPALPA
NEAR
umcos
10 20 30 *0 50 60 70 80 90 lO O
SCALE or FEET
THE HOUSE OF THE SUN 249
"as a visible manifestation" in the water. Indians
came from the most sequestered villages of the
dense forests to worship here and to offer gifts and
sacrifices. Nevertheless, the Augustinian monks here
raised the standard of the cross, recited their orisons,
and piled firewood all about the rock and temple.
Exorcising the Devil and calling him by all the vile
names they could think of, the friars commanded
him never to return. Setting fire to the pile, they
burned up the temple, scorched the rock, making a
powerful impression on the Indians and causing
the poor Devil to flee, "roaring in a fury." "The
cruel Devil never more returned to the rock nor
to this district." Whether the roaring which they
heard was that of the Devil or of the flames we can
only conjecture. Whether the conflagration tempo-
rarily dried up the swamp or interfered with the
arrangements of the water supply so that the pool
disappeared for the time being and gave the Devil
no chance to appear in the water, where he had
formerly been accustomed to show himself, is also
a matter for speculation.
The buildings of the House of the Sun are in a
very ruinous state, but the rock itself, with its curi-
ous carvings, is well preserved notwithstanding the
great conflagration of 1570. Its length is fifty- two
feet, its width thirty feet, and its height above the
present level of the water, twenty-five feet. On
the west side of the rock are seats and large steps or
platforms. It was customary to kill llamas at these
holy huacas. On top of the rock is a flattened place
which may have been used for such sacrifices. From
250 INCA LAND
it runs a little crack in the boulder, v/hich has been
artificially enlarged and may have been intended to
carry off the blood of the victim killed on top of the
rock. It is still used for occult ceremonies of obscure
origin which are quietly practiced here by the more
superstitious Indian women of the valley, possibly
in memory of the Nusta or Inca princess for whom
the shrine is named.
On the south side of the monolith are several large
platforms and four or five small seats which have
been cut in the rock. Great care was exercised in
cutting out the platforms. The edges are very
nearly square, level, and straight. The east side of
the rock projects over the spring. Two seats have
been carved immediately above the water. On the
north side there are no seats. Near the water, steps
have been carved. There is one flight of three and
another of seven steps. Above them the rock has
been flattened artificially and carved into a very
bold relief. There are ten projecting square stones,
like those usually called intihuatana or "places to
which the sun is tied." In one line are seven; one is
slightly apart from the six others. The other three
are arranged in a triangular position above the
seven. It is significant that these stones are on the
northeast face of the rock, where they are exposed to
the rising sun and cause striking shadows at sunrise.
Our excavations yielded no artifacts whatever
and only a handful of very rough old potsherds of
uncertain origin. The running water under the
rock was clear and appeared to be a spring, but when
we drained the swamp which adjoins the great rock
CARVED SEATS AND PLATFORMS OF NUSTA ISPPANA
TWO OF THE SEVEN SEATS NEAR THE SPRING UNDER
THE GREAT WHITE ROCK
THE HOUSE OF THE SUN 251
on its northeastern side, we found that the spring
was a Httle higher up the hill and that the water ran
through the dark pool. We also found that what
looked like a stone culvert on the borders of the
little pool proved to be the top of the back of a row
of seven or eight very fine stone seats. The platform
on which the seats rested and the seats themselves
are parts of three or four large rocks nicely fitted
together. Some of the seats are under the black
shadows of the overhanging rock. Since the pool
was an object of fear and mystery the seats were
probably used only by priests or sorcerers. It would
have been a splendid place to practice divination.
No doubt the devils "roared."
All our expeditions in the ancient province of
Uilcapampa have failed to disclose the presence
of any other "white rock over a spring of water"
surrounded by the ruins of a possible "House of the
Sun." Consequently it seems reasonable to adopt
the following conclusions: First, Nusta Isppana is
the Yurak Rumi of Father Calancha. The Chuqui-
palta of to-day is the place to which he refers as
Chuquipalpa. Second, Uiticos, "close to" this shrine,
was once the name of the present valley of Vilca-
bamba between Tincochaca and Lucma. This is the
"Viticos" of Cieza de Leon, a contemporary of
Manco, who says that it was to the province of Viti-
cos that Manco determined to retire when he re-
belled against Pizarro, and that "having reached
Viticos with a great quantity of treasure collected
from various parts, together with his women and
retinue, the king, Manco Inca, established himself
252 INCA LAND
in the strongest place he could find, whence he
sallied forth many times and in many directions
and disturbed those parts which were quiet, to do
what harm he could to the Spaniards, whom he con-
sidered as cruel enemies." Third, the "strongest
place" of Cieza, the Guaynapucara of Garcia, was
Rosaspata, referred to by Ocampo as "the fortress
of Pitcos," where, he says, "there was a level space
with majestic buildings," the most noteworthy
feature of which was that they had two kinds of
doors and both kinds had white stone lintels. Fourth,
the modern village of Pucyura in the valley of the
river Vilcabamba is the Puquiura of Father Ca-
lancha, the site of the first mission church in this
region, as assumed by Raimondi, although he was
disappointed in the insignificance of the "wretched
little village." The remains of the old quartz-crush-
ing plant in Tincochaca, which has already been
noted, the distance from the "House of the Sun,"
not too great for the religious procession, and the
location of Pucyura near the fortress, all point to
the correctness of this conclusion.
Finally, Calancha says that Friar Ortiz, after he
had secured permission from Titu Cusi to establish
the second missionary station in Uilcapampa, se-
lected "the town of Huarancalla, which was popu-
lous and well located in the midst of a number of
other little towns and villages. There was a distance
of two or three days' journey from one convent to
the other. Leaving Friar Marcos in Puquiura, Friar
Diego went to his new establishment, and in a short
time built a church." There is no "Huarancalla"
THE HOUSE OF THE SUN 253
to-day, nor any tradition of any, but in Mapillo, a
pleasant valley at an elevation of about 10,000 feet,
in the temperate zone where the crops with which
the Incas were familiar might have been raised,
near pastures where llamas and alpacas could have
flourished, is a place called Huarancalque, The
valley is populous and contains a number of little
towns and villages. Furthermore, Huarancalque is
two or three days' journey from Pucyura and is
on the road which the Indians of this region now
use in going to Ayacucho. This was undoubtedly
the route used by Manco in his raids on Spanish
caravans. The Mapillo flows into the Apurimac
near the mouth of the river Pampas. Not far up
the Pampas is the important bridge between Bom-
bon and Ocros, which Mr. Hay and I crossed in
1909 on our way from Cuzco to Lima. The city of
Ayacucho was founded by Pizarro, a day's journey
from this bridge. The necessity for the Spanish cara-
vans to cross the river Pampas at this point made it
easy for Manco's foraging expeditions to reach them
by sudden marches from Uiticos down the Mapillo
River by way of Huarancalque, which is probably
the "Huarancalla" of Calancha's "Chronicles." He
must have had rafts or canoes on which to cross
the Apurimac, which is here very wide and deep.
In the valleys between Huarancalque and Lucma,
Manco was cut ofl^ from central Peru by the Apuri-
mac and its magnificent canyon, which in many
places has a depth of over two miles. He was cut off
from Cuzco by the inhospitable snow fields and
glaciers of Salcantay, Soray, and the adjacent ridges,
254 INCA LAND
even though they are only fifty miles from Cuzco.
Frequently all the passes are completely snow-
blocked. Fatalities have been known even in recent
years. In this mountainous province Manco could
be sure of finding not only security from his Spanish
enemies, but any climate that he desired and an
abundance of food for his followers. There seems to
be no reason to doubt that the retired region around
the modern town of Pucyura in the upper Vilca-
bamba Valley was once called Uiticos.
CHAPTER XIII
VILCABAMBA
ALTHOUGH the refuge of Manco is frequently
spoken of as Uitlcos by the contemporary
writers, the word Vilcabamba, or Uilcapampa, is
used even more often. In fact Garcilasso, the chief
historian of the Incas, himself the son of an Inca
princess, does not mention Uiticos. Vilcabamba was
the common name of the province. Father Calan-
cha says it was a very large area, "covering four-
teen degrees of longitude," about seven hundred
miles wide. It included many savage tribes "of the
far interior" who acknowledged the supremacy of
the Incas and brought tribute to Manco and his
sons. "The Manaries and the Pilcosones came a
hundred and two hundred leagues" to visit the Inca
in Uiticos.
The name, Vilcabamba, is also applied repeatedly
to a town. Titu Cusi says he lived there many years
during his youth. Calancha says it was "two days'
journey from Puquiura." Raimondi thought it must
be Choqquequirau. Captain Garcia's soldiers, how-
ever, speak of it as being down in the warm valleys
of the montana, the present rubber country. On the
other hand the only place which bears this name on
the maps of Peru is near the source of the Vilca-
bamba River, not more than three or four leagues
from Pucyura. We determined to visit it.
256 INCA LAND
We found the town to lie on the edge of bleak
upland pastures, 11,750 feet above the sea. Instead
of Inca walls or ruins Vilcabamba has threescore
solidly built Spanish houses. At the time of our visit
they were mostly empty, although their roofs, of
unusually heavy thatch, seemed to be in good repair.
We stayed at the house of the gohernador, Manuel
Condore. The nights were bitterly cold and we
should have been most uncomfortable in a tent.
The gohernador said that the reason the town was
deserted was that most of the people were now
attending to their chacras, or little farms, and look-
ing after their herds of sheep and cattle in the neigh-
boring valleys. He said that only at special festival
times, such as the annual visit of the priest, who
celebrates mass in the church here, once a year, are
the buildings fully occupied. In the latter part of the
sixteenth century, gold mines were discovered in
the adjacent mountains and the capital of the Span-
ish province of Vilcabamba was transferred from
Hoyara to this place. Its official name. Condor^
said, is still San Francisco de la Victoria de Vilca-
bamba, and as such it occurs on most of the early
maps of Peru. The solidity of the stone houses was
due to the prosperity of the gold diggers. The pres-
ent air of desolation and absence of population is
probably due to the decay of that industry.
The church is large. Near it, and slightly apart
from the building, is a picturesque stone belfry with
three old Spanish bells. Condor6 said that the
church was built at least three hundred years ago.
It is probably the very structure whose construction
m
VILCABAMBA 257
was carefully supervised by Ocampo. In the nego-
tiations for permission to move the municipaHty of
San Francisco de la Victoria from Hoyara to the
neighborhood of the mines, Ocampo, then one of the
chief settlers, went to Cuzco as agent of the inter-
ested parties, to take the matter up with the viceroy.
Ocampo's story is in part as follows:
"The change of site appeared convenient for the
service of God our Lord and of his Majesty, and for
the increase of his royal fifths, as well as beneficial
to the inhabitants of the said city. Having examined
the capitulations and reasons, the said Don Luis de
Velasco [the viceroy] granted the licence to move
the city to where it is now founded, ordering that it
should have the title and name of the city of San
Francisco of the Victory of Uilcapampa, which was
its first name. By this change of site I, the said
Baltasar de Ocampo, performed a great service to
God our Lord and his Majesty. Through my care,
industry and solicitude, a very good church was
built, with its principal chapel and great doors."
We found the walls to be heavy, massive, and well
buttressed, the doors to be unusually large and the
whole to show considerable ' * industry and solicitude. ' '
The site was called "Onccoy, where the Spaniards
who first discovered this land found the flocks and
herds." Modern Vilcabamba is on grassy slopes,
well suited for flocks and herds. On the steeper
slopes potatoes are still raised, although the valley
itself is given up to-day almost entirely to pasture
lands. We saw horses, cattle, and sheep in abun-
dance where the Incas must have pastured their
258 INCA LAND
llamas and alpacas. In the rocky cliffs near by are
remains of the mines begun in Ocampo's day. There
is little doubt that this was Onccoy, although that
name is now no longer used here.
We met at the gobernador's an old Indian who
admitted that an Inca had once lived on Rosaspata
Hill. Of all the scores of persons whom we in-
terviewed through the courtesy of the intelligent
planters of the region or through the customary
assistance of government oflficials, this Indian was
the only one to make such an admission. Even he
denied having heard of "Uiticos" or any of its
variations. If we were indeed in the country of
Manco and his sons, why should no one be familiar
with that name?
Perhaps, after all, it is not surprising. The In-
dians of the highlands have now for so many genera-
tions been neglected by their rulers and brutalized
by being allowed to drink all the alcohol they can
purchase and to assimilate all the cocaine they can
secure, through the constant chewing of coca leaves,
that they have lost much if not all of their racial
self-respect. It is the educated mestizos of the princi-
pal modern cities of Peru who, tracing their descent
not only from the Spanish soldiers of the Conquest,
but also from the blood of the race which was con-
quered, take pride in the achievements of the Incas
and are endeavoring to preserve the remains of the
wonderful civilization of their native ancestors.
Until quite recently Vilcabamba was an unknown
land to most of the Peruvians, even those who live
in the city of Cuzco. Had the capital of the last four
VILCABAMBA 259
Incas been In a region whose climate appealed to
Europeans, whose natural resources were sufficient
to support a large population, and whose roads made
transportation no more difficult than in most parts
of the Andes, it would have been occupied from the
days of Captain Garcia to the present by Spanish-
speaking mestizos, who might have been interested
in preserving the name of the ancient Inca capital
and the traditions connected with it.
After the mines which attracted Ocampo and his
friends "petered out," or else, with the primitive
tools of the sixteenth century, ceased to yield ade-
quate returns, the Spaniards lost interest in that
remote region. The rude trails which connected
Pucyura with Cuzco and civilization were at best
dangerous and difficult. They were veritably im-
passable during a large part of the year even to
people accustomed to Andean "roads."
The possibility of raising sugar cane and coca be-
tween Huadquina and Santa Ana attracted a few
Spanish-speaking people to live in the lower Uru-
bamba Valley, notwithstanding the difficult trans-
portation over the passes near Mts. Salcantay and
Veronica; but there was nothing to lead any one
to visit the upper Vilcabamba Valley or to desire to
make it a place of residence. And until Seiior Pan-
corbo opened the road to Lucma, Pucyura was ex-
tremely difficult of access. Nine generations of In-
dians lived and died in the province of Uilcapampa
between the time of Tupac Amaru and the arrival
of the first modern explorers. The great stone
buildings constructed on the "Hill of Roses" in the
26o INCA LAND
days of Manco and his sons were allowed to fall into
ruin. Their roofs decayed and disappeared. The
names of those who once lived here were known to
fewer and fewer of the natives. The Indians them-
selves had no desire to relate the story of the various
forts and palaces to their Spanish landlords, nor had
the latter any interest in hearing such tales. It was
not until the renaissance of historical and geograph-
ical curiosity, in the nineteenth century, that it
occurred to any one to look for Manco's capital.
When Raimondi, the first scientist to penetrate
Vilcabamba, reached Pucyura, no one thought to
tell him that on the hilltop opposite the village once
lived the last of the Incas and that the ruins of their
palaces were still there, hidden underneath a thick
growth of trees and vines.
A Spanish document of 1598 says the first town
of "San Francisco de la Victoria de Vilcabamba"
was in the "valley of Viticos." The town's long
name became shortened to Vilcabamba. Then the
.river which flowed past was called the Vilcabamba,
^^and is so marked on Raimondi's map. Uiticos had
long since passed from the memory of man.
Furthermore, the fact that we saw no llamas or
alpacas in the upland pastures, but only domestic
animals of European origin, would also seem to
indicate that for some reason or other this region
had been abandoned by the Indians themselves. It
is difficult to believe that if the Indians had in-
habited these valleys continuously from Inca times
to the present we should not have found at least a
few of the indigenous American camels here. By
VILCABAMBA 261
itself, such an occurrence would hardly seem worth
a remark, but taken in connection with the loss of
traditions regarding Uiticos, it would seem to indi-
cate that there must have been quite a long period
of time in which no persons of consequence lived
in this vicinity.
We are told by the historians of the colonial period
that the mining operations of the first Spanish
settlers were fatal to at least a million Indians. It
is quite probable that the introduction of ordinary
European contagious diseases, such as measles,
chicken pox, and smallpox, may have had a great
deal to do with the destruction of a large proportion
of those unfortunates whose untimely deaths were
attributed by historians to the very cruel practices
of the early Spanish miners and treasure seekers.
Both causes undoubtedly contributed to the result.
There seems to be no question that the population
diminished enormously in early colonial days. If
this is true, the remaining population would nat-
urally have sought regions where the conditions of
existence and human intercourse were less severe
and rigorous than in the valleys of Uiticos and
Uilcapampa.
The students and travelers of the late nineteenth
and early twentieth centuries, including such a care-
ful observer as Bandelier, are of the opinion that the
present-day population in the Andes of Peru and
Bolivia is about as great as that at the time of the
Conquest. In other words, with the decay of early
colonial mining and the consequent disappearance
of bad living conditions and forced labor at the
262 INCA LAND
mines, also with the rise of partial immunity to
European diseases, and the more comfortable condi-
tions of existence which have followed the coming
of Peruvian independence, it is reasonable to sup-
pose that the number of highland Indians has in-
creased. With this increase has come a consequent
crowding in certain localities. There would be a
natural tendency to seek less crowded regions, even
at the expense of using difficult mountain trails.
This would lead to their occupying as remote and
inaccessible a region as the ancient province of
Uilcapampa. It is probable that after the gold
mines ceased to pay, and before the demand for
rubber caused the San Miguel Valley to be appro-
priated by the white man, there was a period of
nearly three hundred years when no one of educa-
tion or of intelligence superior to the ordinary In-
dian shepherd lived anywhere near Pucyura or
Lucma. The adobe houses of these modern villages
look fairly modern. They may have been built in
the nineteenth century.
Such a theory would account for the very small
amount of information prevailing in Peru regarding
the region where we had been privileged to find so
many ruins. This ignorance led the Peruvian geog-
raphers Raimondi and Paz Soldan to conclude that
Choqquequirau, the only ruins reported between
the Apurimac and the Urubamba, must have been
the capital of the Incas who took refuge there.
1 1 also makes it seem more reasonable that the exist-
ence of Rosaspata and Nusta Isppana should not
have been known to Peruvian geographers and
VILCABAMBA 263
historians, or even to the government officials who
Hved in the adjacent villages.
We felt sure we had found Uiticos ; nevertheless it
was quite apparent that we had not yet found all
the places which were called Vilcabamba. Examina-
tion of the writers of the sixteenth century shows
that there may have been three places bearing that
name; one spoken of by Calancha as Vilcabamba
Viejo ("the old "), another also so called by Ocampo,
and a third founded by the Spaniards, namely, the
town we w^ere now in. The story of the first is given
in Calancha's account of the trials and tribulations
of Friar Marcos and the martyrdom of Friar Diego
Ortiz. The chronicler tells with considerable detail
of their visit to "Vilcabamba Viejo." It was after
the monks had already founded their religious es-
tablishment at Puquiura that they learned of the
existence of this important religious center. They
urged Titu Cusi to permit them to visit it. For a
long time he refused. Its whereabouts remained
unknown to them, but its strategic position as a
religious stronghold led them to continue their de-
mands. Finally, either to rid himself of their im-
portunities or because he imagined the undertaking
might be made amusing, he yielded to their requests
and bade them prepare for the journey. Calancha
says that the Inca himself accompanied the two
friars, with a number of his captains and chieftains,
taking them from Puquiura over a very rough and
rugged road. The Inca, however, did not suffer from
the character of the trail because, like the Roman
generals of old, he was borne comfortably along in a
264 INCA LAND
litter by servants accustomed to this duty. The un-
fortunate missionaries were obliged to go on foot.
The wet, rocky trail soon demoralized their foot-
gear. When they came to a particularly bad place
in the road, " Ungacacha,'' the trail went for some
distance through water. The monks were forced to
wade. The water was very cold. The Inca and his
chieftains were amused to see how the friars were
hampered by their monastic garments while passing
through the water. However, the monks persevered,
greatly desiring to reach their goal, "on account of
its being the largest city in which was the Univer-
sity of Idolatry, where lived the teachers who were
wizards and masters of abomination." If one may
judge by the name of the place, Ullcapampa, the
wizards and sorcerers were probably aided by
the powerful effects of the ancient snuff made from
huilca seeds. After a three days' journey over very
rough country, the monks arrived at their destina-
tion. Yet even then TItu Cusi was unwilling that
they should live in the city, but ordered that the
monks be given a dwelling outside, so that they
might not witness the ceremonies and ancient rites
which were practiced by the Inca and his captains
and priests.
Nothing Is said about the appearance of "Vilca-
bamba VIejo" and it is doubtful whether the monks
were ever allowed to see the city, although they
reached its vicinity. Here they stayed for three
weeks and kept up their preaching and teaching.
During their stay Titu Cusi, who had not wished to
bring them here, got his revenge by annoying them
VILCABAMBA 265
in various ways. He was particularly anxious to
make them break their vows of celibacy. Calancha
says that after consultation with his priests and
soothsayers Titu Cusi selected as tempters the most
beautiful Indian women, including some individuals
of the Yungas who were unusually attractive. It is
possible that these women, who lived at the "Uni-
versity of Idolatry" in "Vilcabamba Viejo," were
"Virgins of the Sun," who were under the orders of
the Inca and his high priests and were selected from
the fairest daughters of the empire. It is also evi-
dent that "Vilcabamba Viejo" was so constructed
that the monks could be kept for three weeks in its
vicinity without being able to see what was going
on in the city or to describe the kinds of "abomina-
tions" which were practiced there, as they did those
at the white rock of Chuquipalta. As will be shown
later, it is possible that this Vilcabamba, referred
to in Calancha's story as "Vilcabamba Viejo," was
on the slopes of the mountain now called Machu
Picchu.
In the meantime it was necessary to pursue the
hunt for the ruins of Vilcabamba called " the old "
by Ocampo, to distinguish it from the Spanish town
of that name which he had helped to found after
the capture of Tupac Amaru, and referred to merely
as Vilcabamba by Captain Garcia and his com-
panions in their accounts of the campaign.
CHAPTER XIV
CONSERVIDAYOC
WHEN Don Pedro Duque of Santa Aria was
helping us to identify places mentioned in
Calancha and Ocampo, the references to "Vilca-
bamba Viejo," or Old Uilcapampa, were supposed
by two of his informants to point to a place called
Conservidayoc. Don Pedro told us that in 1902
Lopez Torres, who had traveled much in the mo7i-
tana looking for rubber trees, reported the discovery
there of the ruins of an Inca city. All of Don Pedro's
friends assured us that Conservidayoc was a terri-
ble place to reach. "No one now living had been
there." "It was inhabited by savage Indians who
would not let strangers enter their villages."
When we reached Paltaybamba, Seiior Pancorbo's
manager confirmed what we had heard. He said
further that an individual named Saavedra lived
at Conservidayoc and undoubtedly knew all about
the ruins, but was very averse to receiving visitors.
Saavedra's house was extremely difficult to find.
"No one had been there recently and returned
alive." Opinions differed as to how far away it was.
Several days later, while Professor Foote and I
were studying the ruins near Rosaspata, Seiior
Pancorbo, returning from his rubber estate in the
San Miguel Valley and learning at Lucma of our
presence near by, took great pains to find us and see
CONSERVIDAYOC 267
how we were progressing. When he learned of our
intention to search for the ruins of Conservidayoc,
he asked us to desist from the attempt. He said
Saavedra was "a very powerful man having many
Indians under his control and living in grand state,
with fifty servants, and not at all desirous of be-
ing visited by anybody." The Indians were "of
the Campa tribe, very wild and extremely savage.
They use poisoned arrows and are very hostile to
strangers." Admitting that he had heard there were
Inca ruins near Saavedra's station, Sefior Pancorbo
still begged us not to risk our lives by going to look
for them.
By this time our curiosity was thoroughly aroused.
We were familiar with the current stories regarding
the habits of savage tribes who lived in the montana
and whose services were in great demand as rubber
gatherers. We had even heard that Indians did not
particularly like to work for Seiior Pancorbo, who
was an energetic, ambitious man, anxious to achieve
many things, results which required more laborers
than could easily be obtained. We could readily
believe there might possibly be Indians at Conservi-
dayoc who had escaped from the rubber estate of
San Miguel. Undoubtedly, Senor Pancorbo's own
life would have been at the mercy of their poisoned
arrows. All over the Amazon Basin the exigencies
of rubber gatherers had caused tribes visited with
impunity by the explorers of the nineteenth century
to become so savage and revengeful as to lead them
to kill all white men at sight.
Professor Foote and I considered the matter in all
268 INCA LAND
its aspects. We finally came to the conclusion that
in view of the specific reports regarding the presence
of Inca ruins at Conservidayoc we could not afford
to follow the advice of the friendly planter. We
must at least make an effort to reach them, mean-
while taking every precaution to avoid arousing the
enmity of the powerful Saavedra and his savage
retainers.
On the day following our arrival at the town of
Vilcabamba, the gobernador, Condore, taking coun-
sel with his chief assistant, had summoned the wis-
est Indians living in the vicinity, including a very
picturesque old fellow whose name, Quispi Cusi, was
strongly reminiscent of the days of Titu Cusi. It
was explained to him that this was a very solemn
occasion and that an official inquiry was in progress.
He took off his hat — but not his knitted cap — and
endeavored to the best of his ability to answer our
questions about the surrounding country. It was
he who said that the Inca Tupac Amaru once lived
at Rosaspata. He had never heard of Uilcapampa
Viejo, but he admitted that there were ruins in the
montana near Conservidayoc. Other Indians were
questioned by Condor6. Several had heard of the
ruins of Conservidayoc, but, apparently, none of
them, nor any one in the village, had actually seen
the ruins or visited their immediate vicinity.
They all agreed that Saavedra's place was "at least
four days' hard journey on foot in the montana
beyond Pampaconas." No village of that name
appeared on any map of Peru, although it is fre-
quently mentioned in the documents of the six-
CONSERVIDAYOC 269
teenth century. Rodriguez de Figueroa, who came
to seek an audience with Titu Cusi about 1565, says
that he met Titu Cusi at a place called Banbaconas.
He says further that the Inca came there from some-
where down in the dense forests of the montana and
presented him with a macaw and two hampers of
peanuts — products of a warm region.
We had brought with us the large sheets of Rai-
mondi's invaluable map which covered this locality.
We also had the new map of South Peru and North
Bolivia which had just been published by the Royal
Geographical Society and gave a summary of all
available information. The Indians said that Con-
servidayoc lay in a westerly direction from Vilca-
bamba, yet on Raimondi's map all of the rivers
which rise in the mountains west of the town are
short affluents of the Apurimac and flow southwest.
We wondered whether the stories about ruins at
Conservidayoc would turn out to be as barren of
foundation as those we had heard from the trust-
worthy foreman at Huadquifia. One of our inform-
ants said the Inca city was called Espiritu Pampa,
or the "Pampa of Ghosts." Would the ruins turn out
to be "ghosts"? Would they vanish on the arrival
of white men with cameras and steel measuring
tapes?
No one at Vilcabamba had seen the ruins, but
they said that at the village of Pampaconas, "about
five leagues from here," there were Indians who had
actually been to Conservidayoc. Our supplies were
getting low. There were no shops nearer than
Lucma; no food was obtainable from the natives.
270 INCA LAND
Accordingly, notwithstanding the protestations of
the hospitable gohernador, we decided to start im-
mediately for Conservidayoc.
At the end of a long day's march up the Vilca-
bamba Valley, Professor Foote, with his accustomed
skill, was preparing the evening meal and we were
both looking forward with satisfaction to enjoying
large cups of our favorite beverage. Several years
ago, when traveling on muleback across the great
plateau of southern Bolivia, I had learned the value
of sweet, hot tea as a stimulant and bracer in the
high Andes. At first astonished to see how much tea
the Indian arrieros drank, I learned from sad experi-
ence that it was far better than cold water, which
often brings on mountain-sickness. This particular
evening, one swallow of the hot tea caused conster-
nation. It was the most horrible stuff Imaginable.
Examination showed small, oily particles floating on
the surface. Further investigation led to the dis-
covery that one of our arrieros had that day placed
our can of kerosene on top of one of the loads. The
tin became leaky and the kerosene had dripped
down into a food box. A cloth bag of granulated
sugar had eagerly absorbed all the oil it could.
There was no remedy but to throw away half of our
supply. As I have said, the longer one works in the
Andes the more desirable does sugar become and
the more one seems to crave it. Yet we were unable
to procure any here.
After the usual delays, caused in part by the diffi-
culty of catching our mules, which had taken ad-
vantage of our historical investigations to stray far
CONSERVIDAYOC 271
up the mountain pastures, we finally set out from
the boundaries of known topography, headed for
"Conservidayoc," a vague place surrounded with
mystery; a land of hostile savages, albeit said to
possess the ruins of an Inca town.
Our first day's journey was to Pampaconas. Here
and in its vicinity the gobernador told us he could
procure guides and the half-dozen carriers whose
services we should require for the jungle trail where
mules could not be used. As the Indians hereabouts
were averse to penetrating the wilds of Conservi-
dayoc and were also likely to be extremely alarmed
at the sight of men in uniform, the two gendarmes
who were now accompanying us were instructed
to delay their departure for a few hours and not to
reach Pampaconas with our pack train until dusk.
The gobernador said that if the Indians of Pampa-
conas caught sight of any brass buttons coming over
the hills they would hide so effectively that it would
be impossible to secure any carriers. Apparently
this was due in part to that love of freedom which
had led them to abandon the more comfortable
towns for a frontier village where landlords could
not call on them for forced labor. Consequently,
before the arrival of any such striking manifesta-
tions of official authority as our gendarmes, the
gobernador and his friend Mogrovejo proposed to
put in the day craftily commandeering the services
of a half-dozen sturdy Indians. Their methods will
be described presently.
Leaving modern Vilcabamba, we crossed the flat,
marshy bottom of an old glaciated valley, in which
2']2 INCA LAND
one of our mules got thoroughly mired while search-
ing for the succulent grasses which cover the treach-
erous bog. Fording the Vilcabamba River, which
here is only a tiny brook, we climbed out of the
valley and turned westward. On the mountains
above us were vestiges of several abandoned mines.
It was their discovery in 1572 or thereabouts which
brought Ocampo and the first Spanish settlers to
this valley. Raimondi says that he found here
cobalt, nickel, silver-bearing copper ore, and lead
sulphide. He does not mention any gold-bearing
quartz. It may have been exhausted long before his
day. As to the other minerals, the difficulties of
transportation are so great that it is not likely that
mining will be renewed here for many years to come.
At the top of the pass we turned to look back and
saw a long chain of snow-capped mountains tower-
ing above and behind the town of Vilcabamba. We
searched in vain for them on our maps. Raimondi,
followed by the Royal Geographical Society, did not
leave room enough for such a range to exist between
the rivers Apurimac and Urubamba. Mr. Hendrik-
sen determined our longitude to be 73° west, and
our latitude to be 13° 8' south. Yet according to
the latest map of this region, published in the
preceding year, this was the very position of the
river Apurimac itself, near its junction with the river
Pampas. We ought to have been swimming "the
Great Speaker." Actually we were on top of a lofty
mountain pass surrounded by high peaks and gla-
ciers. The mystery was finally solved by Mr. Bum-
stead in 191 2, when he determined the Apurimac
CONSERVIDAYOC 273
and the Urubamba to be thirty miles farther apart
than any one had supposed. His surveys opened an
unexplored region, 1500 square miles in extent, whose
very existence had not been guessed before 191 1.
It proved to be one of the largest undescribed gla-
ciated areas in South America. Yet it is less than a
hundred miles from Cuzco, the chief city in the
Peruvian Andes, and the site of a university for
more than three centuries. That Uilcapampa could
so long defy investigation and exploration shows
better than anything else how wisely Manco had
selected his refuge. It is indeed a veritable labyrinth
of snow-clad peaks, unknown glaciers, and trackless
canyons.
Looking west, we saw in front of us a great wil-
derness of deep green valleys and forest-clad slopes.
We supposed from our maps that we were now look-
ing down into the basin of the Apurimac. As a
matter of fact, we were on the rim of the valley
of the hitherto uncharted Pampaconas, a branch of
the Cosireni, one of the affluents of the Urubamba.
Instead of being the Apurimac Basin, what we saw
was another unexplored region which drained into
the Urubamba!
At the time, however, we did not know where we
were, but understood from Condore that somewhere
far down in the montana below us was Conservi-
dayoc, the sequestered domain of Saavedra and his
savage Indians. It seemed less likely than ever that
the Incas could have built a town so far away from
the climate and food to which they were accustomed.
The "road" was now so bad that only with the
274 INCA LAND
greatest difficulty could we coax our sure-footed
mules to follow it. Once we had to dismount, as
the path led down a long, steep, rocky stairway of
ancient origin. At last, rounding a hill, we came in
sight of a lonesome little hut perched on a shoulder
of the mountain. In front of it, seated in the sun
on mats, were two women shelling corn. As soon as
they saw the gohernador approaching, they stopped
their work and began to prepare lunch. It was about
eleven o'clock and they did not need to be told that
Senor Condore and his friends had not had anything
but a cup of coffee since the night before. In order
to meet the emergency of unexpected guests they
killed four or five squealing cuys (guinea pigs), usu-
ally to be found scurrying about the mud fioor of
the huts of mountain Indians. Before long the sa-
vory odor of roast cuy^ well basted, and cooked-to-
a-turn on primitive spits, whetted our appetites.
In the eastern United States one sees guinea pigs
only as pets or laboratory victims; never as an
article of food. In spite of the celebrated dogma that
"Pigs is Pigs," this form of " pork" has never found
its way to our kitchens, even though these " pigs " live
on a very clean, vegetable diet. Incidentally guinea
pigs do not come from Guinea and are in no way
related to pigs — Mr. Ellis Parker Butler to the
contrary notwithstanding! They belong rather to
the same family as rabbits and Belgian hares and
have, long been a highly prized article of food in
the Andes of Peru. The wild species are of a grayish
brown color, which enables them to escape observa-
tion in their natural habitat. The domestic varie-
CONSERVIDAYOC 275
ties, which one sees in the huts of the Indians, are
piebald, black, white, and tawny, varying from one
another in color as much as do the llamas, which
were also domesticated by the same race of people
thousands of years ago. Although Anglo-Saxon
"folkways," as Professor Sumner would say, permit
us to eat and enjoy long-eared rabbits, we draw the
line at short-eared rabbits, yet they were bred to be
eaten.
I am willing to admit that this was the first time
that I had ever knowingly tasted their delicate flesh,
although once in the capital of Bolivia I thought
the hotel kitchen had a diminishing supply! Had I
not been very hungry, I might never have known
how delicious a roast guinea pig can be. The meat is
not unlike squab. To the Indians whose supply of
animal food is small, whose fowls are treasured for
their eggs, and whose thin sheep are more valuable
as wool bearers than as mutton, the succulent guin2a
pig, "most prolific of mammals," as was discovered
by Mr. Butler's hero, is a highly valued article of
food, reserved for special occasions. The North
American housewife keeps a few tins of sardines
and cans of preserves on hand for emergencies. Her
sister in the Andes similarly relies on fat little cuys.
After lunch, Condore and Mogrovejo divided the
extensive rolling countryside between them and each
rode quietly from one lonesome farm to another,
looking for men to engage as bearers. When they
were so fortunate as to find the man of the house at
home or working in his little chacra they greeted him
pleasantly. When he came forward to shake hands,
276 INCA LAND
in the usual Indian manner, a silver dollar was un-
suspectingly slipped into the palm of his right hand
and he was informed that he had accepted pay for
services which must now be performed. It seemed
hard, but this was the only way in which it was
possible to secure carriers.
During Inca times the Indians never received pay
for their labor. A paternal government saw to it
that they were properly fed and clothed and either
given abundant opportunity to provide for their
own necessities or else permitted to draw on official
stores. In colonial days a more greedy and less
paternal government took advantage of the ancient
system and enforced it without taking pains to see
that it should not cause suffering. Then, for genera-
tions, thoughtless landlords, backed by local author-
ity, forced the Indians to work without suitably
recompensing them at the end of their labors or even
pretending to carry out promises and wage agree-
ments. The peons learned that it was unwise to
perform any labor without first having received
a considerable portion of their pay. When once they
accepted money, however, their own custom and
the law of the land provided that they must carry
out their obligations. Failure to do so meant legal
punishment.
Consequently, when an unfortunate Pampaconas
Indian found he had a dollar in his hand, he be-
moaned his fate, but realized that service was inevi-
table. In vain did he plead that he was "busy,"
that his "crops needed attention," that his "family
could not spare him," that "he lacked food for a
CONSERVIDAYOC 277
journey." Condor^ and Mogrovejo were accus-
tomed to all varieties of excuses. They succeeded
in "engaging " half a dozen carriers. Before dark we
reached the village of Pampaconas, a few small huts
scattered over grassy hillsides, at an elevation of
10,000 feet.
In the notes of one of the military advisers of
Viceroy Francisco de Toledo is a reference to Pam-
paconas as a "high, cold place." This is correct.
Nevertheless, I doubt if the present village is the
Pampaconas mentioned in the documents of Gar-
cia's day as being "an important town of the Incas."
There are no ruins hereabouts. The huts of Pampa-
conas were newly built of stone and mud, and
thatched with grass. They were occupied by a group
of sturdy mountain Indians, who enjoyed unusual
freedom from ofilicial or other interference and a
good place in which to raise sheep and cultivate
potatoes, on the very edge of the dense forest. We
found that there was some excitement in the village
because on the previous night a jaguar, or possibly a
cougar, had come out of the forest, attacked, killed,
and dragged ofif one of the village ponies.
We were conducted to the dwelling of a stocky,
well-built Indian named Guzman, the most reliable
man in the village, who had been selected to be the
head of the party of carriers that was to accompany
us to Conservidayoc. Guzman had some Spanish
blood in his veins, although he did not boast of it.
With his wife and six children he occupied one of the
best huts. A fire in one corner frequently filled it
with acrid smoke. It was very small and had no
278 INCA LAND
windows. At one end was a loft where fiimily treas-
ures could be kept dry and reasonably safe from
molestation. Piles of sheep skins were arranged for
visitors to sit upon. Three or four rude niches in
the walls served in lieu of shelves and tables. The
floor of well-trodden clay was damp. Three mongrel
dogs and a flea-bitten cat were welcome to share
the narrow space with the family and their visitors.
A dozen hogs entered stealthily and tried to avoid
attention by putting a muffler on involuntary grunts.
They did not succeed and were violently ejected by
a boy with a whip; only to return again and again,
each time to be driven out as before, squealing
loudly. Notwithstanding these interruptions, we
carried on a most interesting conversation with
Guzman. He had been to Conservidayoc and had
himself actually seen ruins at Espiritu Pampa. At
last the mythical " Pampa of Ghosts" began to take
on in our minds an aspect of reality, even though
we were careful to remind ourselves that another
very trustworthy man had said he had seen ruins
"finer than Ollantaytambo " near Huadquiiia. Guz-
man did not seem to dread Conservidayoc as much
as the other Indians, only one of whom had ever
been there. To cheer them up we purchased a fat
sheep, for which we paid fifty cents. Guzman
immediately butchered it in preparation for the jour-
ney. Although it was August and the middle of the
dry season, rain began to fall early in the after-
noon. Sergeant Carrasco arrived after dark with
our pack animals, but, missing the trail as he neared
Guzman's place, one of the mules stepped into a bog
CONSERVIDAYOC 279
and was extracted only with considerable difficulty.
We decided to pitch our small pyramidal tent on a
fairly well-drained bit of turf not far from Guzman's
little hut. In the evening, after we had had a long
talk with the Indians, we came back through the
rain to our comfortable little tent, only to hear vari-
ous and sundry grunts emerging therefrom. We
found that during our absence a large sow and six
fat young pigs, unable to settle down comfortably
at the Guzman hearth, had decided that our tent
was much the driest available place on the mountain
side and that our blankets made a particularly
attractive bed. They had considerable difficulty
in getting out of the small door as fast as they
wished. Nevertheless, the pouring rain and the
memory of comfortable blankets caused the pigs to
return at intervals. As we were starting to enjoy our
first nap, Guzman, with hospitable intent, sent us
two bowls of steaming soup, which at first glance
seemed to contain various sizes of white macaroni —
a dish of which one of us was particularly fond.
The white hollow cylinders proved to be extraordi-
narily tough, not the usual kind of macaroni. As a
matter of fact, we learned that the evening meal
which Guzman's wife had prepared for her guests
was made chiefly of sheep's entrails !
Rain continued without intermission during the
whole of a very cold and dreary night. Our tent,
which had never been wet before, leaked badly; the
only part which seemed to be thoroughly water-
proof was the floor. As day dawned we found our-
selves to be lying in puddles of water. Everything
28o INCA LAND
was soaked. Furthermore, rain was still falling.
While we were discussing the situation and wonder-
ing what we should cook for breakfast, the faithful
Guzman heard our voices and immediately sent us
two more bowls of hot soup, which were this time
more welcome, even though among the bountiful
com, beans, and potatoes we came unexpectedly
upon fragments of the teeth and jaws of the sheep.
Evidently in Pampaconas nothing is wasted.
We were anxious to make an early start for Con-
servidayoc, but it was first necessary for our Indians
to prepare food for the ten days' journey ahead of
them, Guzman's wife, and I suppose the wives of
our other carriers, spent the morning grinding chuno
(frozen potatoes) with a rocking stone pestle on a
flat stone mortar, and parching or toasting large
quantities of sweet corn in a terra-cotta olla. With
chuno and tostado, the body of the sheep, and a
small quantity of coca leaves, the Indians professed
themselves to be perfectly contented. Of our own
provisions we had so small a quantity that we
were unable to spare any. However, it is doubtful
whether the Indians would have liked them as much
as the food to which they had long been accustomed.
Toward noon, all the Indian carriers but one
having arrived, and the rain having partly subsided,
we started for Conservidayoc. We were told that
it would be possible to use the mules for this day's
journey. San Fernando, our first stop, was "seven
leagues" away, far down in the densely wooded
Pampaconas Valley. Leaving the village we climbed
up the mountain back of Guzman's hut and fol-
CONSERVIDAYOC 281
lowed a faint trail by a dangerous and precarious
route along the crest of the ridge. The rains had not
improved the path. Our saddle mules were of little
use. We had to go nearly all the way on foot.
Owing to cold rain and mist we could see but little
of the deep canyon which opened below us, and into
which we now began to descend through the clouds
by a very steep, zigzag path, four thousand feet to
a hot tropical valley. Below the clouds we found
ourselves near a small abandoned clearing. Passing
this and fording little streams, we went along a very
narrow path, across steep slopes, on which maize
had been planted. Finally we came to another little
clearing and two extremely primitive little shanties,
mere shelters not deserving to be called huts; and
this was San Fernando, the end of the mule trail.
There was scarcely room enough in them for our
six carriers. It was with great difficulty we found
and cleared a place for our tent, although its floor
was only seven feet square. There was no really
flat land at all.
At 8:30 P.M. August 13, 191 1, while lying on the
ground in our tent, I noticed an earthquake. It
was felt also by the Indians in the near-by shelter,
who from force of habit rushed out of their frail
structure and made a great disturbance, crying out
that there was a temblor. Even had their little
thatched roof fallen upon them, as it might have
done during the stormy night which followed, they
were in no danger; but, being accustomed to the
stone walls and red tiled roofs of mountain villages
where earthquakes sometimes do very serious harm,
282 INCA LAND
they were greatly excited. The motion seemed to
me to be like a slight shuffle from west to east,
lasting three or four seconds, a gentle rocking back
and forth, with eight or ten vibrations. Several
weeks later, near Huadquifia, we happened to stop
at the Colpani telegraph office. The operator said he
had felt two shocks on August 13th — one at five
o'clock, which had shaken the books off his table
and knocked over a box of insulators standing along
a wall which ran north and south. He said the shock
which I had felt was the lighter of the two.
During the night it rained hard, but our tent was
now adjusting itself to the "dry season" and we
were more comfortable. Furthermore, camping out
at 10,000 feet above sea level is very different from
camping at 6000 feet. This elevation, similar to that
of the bridge of San Miguel, below Machu Picchu,
is on the lower edge of the temperate zone and the
beginning of the torrid tropics. Sugar cane, peppers,
bananas, and grenadillas grow here as well as maize,
squashes, and sweet potatoes. None of these things
will grow at Pampaconas. The Indians who raise
sheep and white potatoes in that cold region come
to San Fernando to make chacras or small clearings.
The three or four natives whom we found here
were so alarmed by the sight of brass buttons that
they disappeared during the night rather than take
the chance of having a silver dollar pressed into
their hands in the morning! From San Fernando,
we sent one of our gendarmes back to Pampaconas
with the mules. Our carriers were good for about
fifty pounds apiece.
CONSERVIDAYOC 283
Half an hour's walk brought us to Vista Alegre,
another little clearing on an alluvial fan in the bend
of the river. The soil here seemed to be very rich.
In the chacra we saw corn stalks eighteen feet in
height, near a gigantic tree almost completely
enveloped in the embrace of a mato-palo, or para-
sitic fig tree. This clearing certainly deserves its
name, for it commands a "charming view" of the
green Pampaconas Valley. Opposite us rose ab-
ruptly a heavily forested mountain, whose sum-
mit was lost in the clouds a mile above. To circum-
vent this mountain the river had been flowing in a
westerly direction ; now it gradually turned to the
northward. Again we were mystified; for, by Rai-
mondi's map, it should have gone southward.
We entered a dense jungle, where the narrow path
became more and more difficult for our carriers.
Crawling over rocks, under branches, along slippery
little cliffs, on steps which had been cut in earth or
rock, over a trail which not even dogs could fol-
low unassisted, slowly we made our way down the
valley. Owing to the heat, humidity, and the fre-
quent showers, it was mid-afternoon before we
reached another little clearing called Pacaypata.
Here, on a hillside nearly a thousand feet above the
river, our men decided to spend the night in a tiny
little shelter six feet long and five feet wide. Pro-
fessor Foote and I had to dig a shelf out of the steep
hillside in order to pitch our tent.
The next morning, not being detained by the
vagaries of a mule train, we made an early start.
As we followed the faint little trail across the gulches
284 INCA LAND
tributary to the river Pampaconas, we had to nego-
tiate several unusually steep descents and ascents.
The bearers suffered from the heat. They found it
more and more difficult to carry their loads. Twice
we had to cross the rapids of the river on primitive
bridges which consisted only of a few little logs
lashed together and resting on slippery boulders.
By one o'clock we found ourselves on a small
plain (ele. 4500 ft.) in dense woods surrounded by
tree ferns, vines, and tangled thickets, through which
it was impossible to see for more than a few feet. Here
Guzman told us we must stop and rest a while, as
we were now in the territory of los salvajes, the sav-
age Indians who acknowledged only the rule of
Saavedra and resented all intrusion. Guzman did
not seem to be particularly afraid, but said that we
ought to send ahead one of our carriers, to warn
the savages that we were coming on a friendly mis-
sion and were not in search of rubber gatherers;
otherwise they might attack us, or run away and
disappear into the jungle. He said we should never
be able to find the ruins without their help. The
carrier who was selected to go ahead did not relish
his task. Leaving his pack behind, he proceeded
very quietly and cautiously along the trail and was
lost to view almost immediately. There followed an
exciting half-hour while we waited, wondering what
attitude the savages would take toward us, and
trying to picture to ourselves the mighty potentate,
Saavedra, who had been described as sitting in the
midst of savage luxury, "surrounded by fifty serv-
ants," and directing his myrmidons to checkmate
CONSERVIDAYOC 285
our desires to visit the Inca city on the "pampa of
ghosts."
Suddenly, we were startled by the crackling of
twigs and the sound of a man running. We instinc-
tively held our rifles a little tighter in readiness for
whatever might befall — when there burst out of
the woods a pleasant-faced young Peruvian, quite
conventionally clad, who had come in haste from
Saavedra, his father, to extend to us a most cordial
welcome! It seemed scarcely credible, but a glance
at his face showed that there was no ambush in
store for us. It was with a sigh of relief that we
realized there was to be no shower of poisoned
arrows from the impenetrable thickets. Gathering
up our packs, we continued along the jungle trail,
through woods which gradually became higher,
deeper, and darker, until presently we saw sunlight
ahead and, to our intense astonishment, the bright
green of waving sugar cane. A few moments of
walking through the cane fields found us at a large
comfortable hut, welcomed very simply and mod-
estly by Saavedra himself. A more pleasant and
peaceable little man it was never my good fortune
to meet. We looked furtively around for his fifty
savage servants, but all we saw was his good-
natured Indian wife, three or four small children,
and a wild-eyed maid-of-all-work, evidently the
only savage present. Saavedra said some called this
place "Jesus Maria" because they were so surprised
when they saw it.
It is difficult to describe our feelings as we ac-
cepted Saavedra's invitation to make ourselves at
286 INCA LAND
home, and sat down to an abundant meal of boiled
chicken, rice, and sweet cassava {manioc). Saavedra
gave us to understand that we were not only most
welcome to anything he had, but that he would do
everything to enable us to see the ruins, which were,
it seemed, at Espiritu Pampa, some distance farther
down the valley, to be reached only by a hard trail
passable for barefooted savages, but scarcely avail-
able for us unless we chose to go a good part of the
distance on hands and knees. The next day, while
our carriers were engaged in clearing this trail,
Professor Foote collected a large number of insects,
including eight new species of moths and butterflies.
I inspected Saavedra's plantation. The soil having
lain fallow for centuries, and being rich in humus,
had produced more sugar cane than he could grind.
In addition to this, he had bananas, coffee trees,
sweet potatoes, tobacco, and peanuts. Instead of
being "a very powerful chief having many Indians
under his control" — a kind of "Pooh-Bah" — he
was merely a pioneer. In the utter wilderness, far
from any neighbors, surrounded by dense forests and
a few savages, he had established his home. He was
not an Indian potentate, but only a frontiersman,
soft-spoken and energetic, an ingenious carpenter
and mechanic, a modest Peruvian of the best type.
Owing to the scarcity of arable land he was
obliged to cultivate such pampas as he could find —
one an alluvial fan near his house, another a natural
terrace near the river. Back of the house was a
thatched shelter under which he had constructed a
little sugar mill. It had a pair of hardwood rollers,
CONSERVIDAYOC 287
each capable of being turned, with much creaking
and cracking, by a large, rustic wheel made of
roughly hewn timbers fastened together with
wooden pins and lashed with thongs, worked by
hand and foot power. Since Saavedra had been
unable to coax any pack animals over the trail to
Conservidayoc he was obliged to depend entirely on
his own limited strength and that of his active son,
aided by the uncertain and irregular services of such
savages as wished to work for sugar, trinkets, or
other trade articles. Sometimes the savages seemed
to enjoy the fun of climbing on the great creaking
tread wheel, as though it were a game. At other
times they would disappear in the woods.
Near the mill were some interesting large pots
which Saavedra was using in the process of boiling
the juice and making crude sugar. He said he had
found the pots in the jungle not far away. They had
been made by the Incas. Four of them were of the
familiar aryhallus type. Another was of a closely
related form, having a wide mouth, pointed base,
single incised, conventionalized, animal-head nub-
bin attached to the shoulder, and band-shaped
handles attached vertically below the median line.
Although capable of holding more than ten gallons,
this huge pot was intended to be carried on the
back and shoulders by means of a rope passing
through the handles and around the nubbin, Saa-
vedra said that he had found near his house several
bottle-shaped cists lined with stones, with a flat
stone on top — evidently ancient graves. The bones
had entirely disappeared. The cover of one of the
288 INCA LAND
graves had been pierced; the hole covered with a
thin sheet of beaten silver. He had also found a few
stone implements and two or three small bronze
Inca axes.
On the pampa, below his house, Saavedra had
constructed with infinite labor another sugar mill.
It seemed strange that he should have taken the
trouble to make two mills; but when one remem-
bered that he had no pack animals and was usually
obliged to bring the cane to the mill on his own back
and the back of his son, one realized that it was
easier, while the cane was growing, to construct a
new mill near the cane field than to have to carry
the heavy bundles of ripe cane up the hill. He said
his hardest task was to get money with which to
send his children to school in Cuzco and to pay his
taxes. The only way in which he could get any cash
was by making chancaca, crude brown sugar, and
carrying it on his back, fifty pounds at a time, three
hard days' journey on foot up the mountain to Pam-
paconas or Vilcabamba, six or seven thousand feet
above his little plantation. He said he could usu-
ally sell such a load for five soles, equivalent to two
dollars and a half ! His was certainly a hard lot, but
he did not complain, although he smilingly admitted
that it was very difficult to keep the trail open, since
the jungle grew so fast and the floods in the river
continually washed away his little rustic bridges.
His chief regret was that as the result of a recent
revolution, with which he had had nothing to do,
the government had decreed that all firearms should
be turned in, and so he had lost the one thing he
SAAVEDRA AND HIS INCA POTTERY
INCA GABLE AT ESPIRITU PAMPA
CONSERVIDAYOC 289
needed to enable him to get fresh meat in the forest.
In the clearing near the house we were interested
to see a large turkey-like bird, the pava de la mon-
tana, glossy black, its most striking feature a high,
coral red comb. Although completely at liberty,
it seemed to be thoroughly domesticated. It would
make an attractive bird for introduction into our
Southern States.
Saavedra gave us some very black leaves of
native tobacco, which he had cured. An inveterate
smoker who tried it in his pipe said it was without
exception the strongest stuff he ever had encoun-
tered !
So interested did I become in talking with Saa-
vedra, seeing his plantation, and marveling that he
should be worried about taxes and have to obey
regulations in regard to firearms, I had almost
forgotten about the wild Indians. Suddenly our
carriers ran toward the house in a great flurry of
excitement, shouting that there was a "savage" in
the bushes near by. The "wild man" was very
timid, but curiosity finally got the better of fear and
he summoned up sufficient courage to accept Saa-
vedra' s urgent invitation that he come out and meet
us. He proved to be a miserable specimen, suffering
from a very bad cold in his head. It has been my
good fortune at one time or another to meet primi-
tive folk in various parts of America and the Pacific,
but this man was by far the dirtiest and most
wretched savage that I have ever seen.
He was dressed in a long, filthy tunic which came
nearly to his ankles. It was made of a large square
290 INCA LAND
of coarsely woven cotton cloth, with a hole in the
middle for his head. The sides were stitched up,
leaving holes for the arms. His hair was long, un-
kempt, and matted. He had small, deep-set eyes,
cadaverous cheeks, thick lips, and a large mouth.
His big toes were unusually long and prehensile.
Slung over one shoulder he carried a small knapsack
made of coarse fiber net. Around his neck hung
what at first sight seemed to be a necklace composed
of a dozen stout cords securely knotted together.
Although I did not see it in use, I was given to
understand that when climbing trees, he used this
stout loop to fasten his ankles together and thus
secure a tighter grip for his feet.
By evening two other savages had come in; a
young married man and his little sister. Both had
bad colds. Saavedra told us that these Indians were
Pichanguerras, a subdivision of the Campa tribe.
Saavedra and his son spoke a little of their language,
which sounded to our unaccustomed ears like a suc-
cession of low grunts, breathings, and gutturals.
It was pieced out by signs. The long tunics worn
by the men indicated that they had one or more
wives. Before marrying they wear very scanty
attire — nothing more than a few rags hanging
over one shoulder and tied about the waist. The
long tunic, a comfortable enough garment to wear
during the cold nights, and their only covering, must
impede their progress in the jungle; yet they live
partly by hunting, using bows and arrows. We
learned that these Pichanguerras had run away from
the rubber country in the lower valleys; that they
CONSERVIDAYOC 291
found it uncomfortably cold at this altitude, 4500
feet, but preferred freedom in the higher valleys to
serfdom on a rubber estate.
Saavedra said that he had named his plantation
Conservidayoc, because it was in truth "a spot where
one may be preserved from harm." Such was the
home of the potentate from whose abode "no one
had been known to return alive."
CHAPTER XV
THE PAMPA OF GHOSTS
TWO days later we left Conservidayoc for Espi-
ritu Pampa by the trail which Saavedra's son
and our Pampaconas Indians had been clearing.
We emerged from the thickets near a promontory
where there was a fine view down the valley and
particularly of a heavily wooded alluvial fan just
below us. In it were two or three small clearings
and the little oval huts of the savages of Espiritu
Pampa, the " Pampa of Ghosts."
On top of the promontory was the ruin of a small,
rectangular building of rough stone, once probably
an Inca watch-tower. From here to Espiritu Pampa
our trail followed an ancient stone stairway, about
four feet in width and nearly a third of a mile long.
It was built of uncut stones. Possibly it was the
work of those soldiers whose chief duty it was to
watch from the top of the promontory and who used
their spare time making roads. We arrived at the
principal clearing just as a heavy thunder-shower
began. The huts were empty. Obviously their oc-
cupants had seen us coming and had disappeared in
the jungle. We hesitated to enter the home of a
savage without an invitation, but the terrific down-
pour overcame our scruples, if not our nervousness.
The hut had a steeply pitched roof. Its sides were
made of small logs driven endwise into the ground
THE PAMPA OF GHOSTS 293
and fastened together with vines. A small fire had
been burning on the ground. Near the embers were
two old black ollas of Inca origin.
In the little chacra, cassava, coca, and sweet po-
tatoes were growing in haphazard fashion among
charred and fallen tree trunks ; a typical milpa farm.
In the clearing were the ruins of eighteen or twenty
circular houses arranged in an irregular group. We
wondered if this could be the "Inca city" which
Lopez Torres had reported. Among the ruins we
picked up several fragments of Inca pottery. There
was nothing Incaic about the buildings. One was
rectangular and one was spade-shaped, but all the
rest were round. The buildings varied in diameter
from fifteen to twenty feet. Each had but a single
opening. The walls had tumbled down, but gave no
evidence of careful construction. Not far away, in
woods which had not yet been cleared by the sav-
ages, we found other circular walls. They were still
standing to a height of about four feet. If the sav-
ages have extended their milpa clearings since our
visit, the falling trees have probably spoiled these
walls by now. The ancient village probably be-
longed to a tribe which acknowledged allegiance to
the Incas, but the architecture of the buildings gave
no indication of their having been constructed by
the Incas themselves. We began to wonder whether
the "Pampa of Ghosts" really had anything im-
portant in store for us. Undoubtedly this alluvial
fan had been highly prized in this country of terribly
steep hills. It must have been inhabited, off and on,
for many centuries. Yet this was not an " Inca city."
294 INCA LAND
While we were wondering whether the Incas
themselves ever lived here, there suddenly appeared
the naked figure of a sturdy young savage, armed
with a stout bow and long arrows, and wearing a
fillet of bamboo. He had been hunting and showed
us a bird he had shot. Soon afterwards there came
the two adult savages we had met at Saavedra's,
accompanied by a cross-eyed friend, all wearing
long tunics. They offered to guide us to other ruins.
It was very difficult for us to follow their rapid pace.
Half an hour's scramble through the jungle brought
us to a pampa or natural terrace on the banks of a
little tributary of the Pampaconas. They called it
Eromboni. Here we found several old artificial ter-
races and the rough foundations of a long, rectangu-
lar building 192 feet by 24 feet. It might have had
twenty-four doors, twelve in front and twelve in
back, each three and a half feet wide. No lintels
were in evidence. The walls were only a foot high.
There was very little building material in sight. Ap-
parently the structure had never been completed.
Near by was a typical Inca fountain with three
stone spouts, or conduits. Two hundred yards be-
yond the water-carrier's rendezvous, hidden behind
a curtain of hanging vines and thickets so dense
we could not see more than a few feet in any direc-
tion, the savages showed us the ruins of a group of
stone houses whose walls were still standing in fine
condition.
One of the buildings was rounded at one end.
Another, standing by itself at the south end of a
little pampa, had neither doors nor windows. It was
INCA RUINS IX THE JUNGLES OF ESPIRITU PAMPA
THE PAMPA OF GHOSTS 295
rectangular. Its four or five niches were arranged
with unique irregularity. Furthermore, they were
two feet deep, an unusual dimension. Probably this
was a storehouse. On the east side of the pampa
was a structure, 120 feet long by 21 feet wide,
divided into five rooms of unequal size. The walls
were of rough stones laid in adobe. Like some of the
Inca buildings at Ollantaytambo, the lintels of the
doors were made of three or four narrow uncut
ashlars. Some rooms had niches. On the north side
of the pampa was another rectangular building.
On the west side was the edge of a stone-faced ter-
race. Below it was a partly enclosed fountain or
bathhouse, with a stone spout and a stone-lined
basin. The shapes of the houses, their general ar-
rangement, the niches, stone roof-pegs and lintels,
all point to Inca builders. In the buildings we picked
up several fragments of Inca pottery.
Equally interesting and very puzzling were half
a dozen crude Spanish roofing tiles, baked red. All
the pieces and fragments we could find would not
have covered four square feet. They were of widely
different sizes, as though some one had been experi-
menting. Perhaps an Inca who had seen the new
red tiled roofs of Cuzco had tried to reproduce them
here in the jungle, but without success.
At dusk we all returned to Espiritu Pampa. Our
faces, hands, and clothes had been torn by the
jungle; our feet were weary and sore. Nevertheless
the day's work had been very satisfactory and we
prepared to enjoy a good night's rest. Alas, we were
doomed to disappointment. During the day some
296 INCA LAND
one had brought to the hut eight tame but noisy
macaws. Furthermore, our savage helpers deter-
mined to make the night hideous with cries, tom-
toms, and drums, either to discourage the visits of
hostile Indians or jaguars, or for the purpose of
exorcising the demons brought by the white men, or
else to cheer up their families, who were undoubt-
edly hiding in the jungle near by.
The next day the savages and our carriers con-
tinued to clear away as much as possible of the
tangled growth near the best ruins. In this process,
to the intense surprise not only of ourselves, but
also of the savages, they discovered, just below the
"bathhouse" where we had stood the day before,
the well-preserved ruins of two buildings of superior
construction, well fitted with stone-pegs and numer-
ous niches, very symmetrically arranged. These
houses stood by themselves on a little artificial
terrace. Fragments of characteristic Inca pottery
were found on the floor, including pieces of a large
aryhallus.
Nothing gives a better idea of the density of the
jungle than the fact that the savages themselves
had often been within five feet of these fine walls
without being aware of their existence.
Encouraged by this important discovery of the
most characteristic Inca ruins found in the valley,
we continued the search, but all that any one was
able to find was a carefully built stone bridge over a
brook. Saavedra's son questioned the savages care-
fully. They said they knew of no other antiquities.
Who built the stone buildings of Espiritu Pampa
THE PAMPA OF GHOSTS 297
and ErombonI Pampa? Was this the "Vilcabamba
Viejo" of Father Calancha, that "University of
Idolatry where Hved the teachers who were wizards
and masters of abomination," the place to which
Friar Marcos and Friar Diego went with so much
suffering? Was there formerly on this trail a place
called Ungacacha where the monks had to wade,
and amused Titu Cusi by the way they handled
their monastic robes in the water? They called it a
"three days' journey over rough country." Another
reference in Father Calancha speaks of Puquiura as
being "two long days' journey from Vilcabamba."
It took us five days to go from Espiritu Pampa to
Pucyura, although Indians, unencumbered by bur-
dens, and spurred on by necessity, might do it in
three. It is possible to fit some other details of the
story into this locality, although there is no place
on the road called Ungacacha. Nevertheless it does
not seem to me reasonable to suppose that the
priests and Virgins of the Sun (the personnel of the
" University of Idolatry") who fled from cold Cuzco
with Manco and were established by him somewhere
in the fastnesses of Uilcapampa would have cared
to live in the hot valley of Espiritu Pampa. The
difference in climate is as great as that between
Scotland and Egypt, or New York and Havana.
They would not have found in Espiritu Pampa the
food which they liked. Furthermore, they could
have found the seclusion and safety which they
craved just as well in several other parts of the
province, particularly at Machu Picchu, together
with a cool, bracing climate and food-stuffs more
298 INCA LAND
nearly resembling those to which they were ac-
customed. Finally Calancha says "Vilcabamba the
Old" was "the largest city" in the province, a term
far more applicable to Machu Picchu or even to
Choqquequirau than to Espiritu Pampa.
On the other hand there seems to be no doubt
that Espiritu Pampa in the montana does meet the
requirements of the place called Vilcabamba by
the companions of Captain Garcia. They speak of
it as the town and valley to which Tupac Amaru,
the last Inca, escaped after his forces lost the
"young fortress" of Uiticos. Ocampo, doubtless
wishing to emphasize the difference between it and
his own metropolis, the Spanish town of Vilca-
bamba, calls the refuge of Tupac "Vilcabamba the
old." Ocampo's new "Vilcabamba" was not in
existence when Friar Marcos and Friar Diego lived
in this province. If Calancha wrote his chronicles
from their notes, the term "old " would not apply to
Espiritu Pampa, but to an older Vilcabamba than
either of the places known to Ocampo.
The ruins are of late Inca pattern, not of a kind
which would have required a long period to build.
The unfinished building may have been under con-
struction during the latter part of the reign of Titu
Cusi. It was Titu Cusi's desire that Rodriguez de
Figueroa should meet him at Pampaconas. The Inca
evidently came from a Vilcabamba down in the
montana, and, as has been said, brought Rodriguez
a present of a macaw and two hampers of peanuts,
articles of trade still common at Conservidayoc.
There appears to me every reason to believe that
THE PAMPA OF GHOSTS 299
the ruins of Espiritu Pampa are those of one of the
favorite residences of this Inca — the very Vilca-
bamba, in fact, where he spent his boyhood and
from which he journeyed to meet Rodriguez in 1565.^
In 1572, when Captain Garcia took up the pursuit
of Tupac Amaru after the victory of Vilcabamba,
the Inca fled "inland toward the valley of Sima-
ponte ... to the country of the Mafiaries Indians,
a warlike tribe and his friends, where balsas and
canoes were posted to save him and enable him to
escape." There is now no valley in this vicinity
called Simaponte, so far as we have been able to
discover. The Mafiaries Indians are said to have
lived on the banks of the lower Urubamba. In or-
der to reach their country Tupac Amaru probably
went down the Pampaconas from Espiritu Pampa.
From the " Pampa of Ghosts" to canoe navigation
would have been but a short journey. Evidently
his friends who helped him to escape were canoe-
men. Captain Garcia gives an account of the pur-
suit of Tupac Amaru in which he says that, not de-
terred by the dangers of the jungle or the river, he
constructed five rafts on which he put some of his
soldiers and, accompanying them himself, went
down the rapids, escaping death many times by
swimming, until he arrived at a place called Momori,
only to find that the Inca, learning of his approach,
had gone farther into the woods. Nothing daunted,
Garcia followed him, although he and his men now
had to go on foot and barefooted, with hardly any-
^ Titu Cusi was an illegitimate son of Manco. His mother was not
of royal blood and may have been a native of the warm valleys.
300 INCA LAND
thing to eat, most of their provisions having been
lost in the river, until they finally caught Tupac and
his friends; a tragic ending to a terrible chase, hard
on the white man and fatal for the Incas.
It was with great regret that I was now unable to
follow the Pampaconas River to its junction with
the Urubamba. It seemed possible that the Pam-
paconas might be known as the Sirialo, or the Cori-
beni, both of which were believed by Dr. Bowman's
canoe-men to rise in the mountains of Vilcabamba.
It was not, however, until the summer of 1915 that
we were able definitely to learn that the Pampa-
conas was really a branch of the Cosireni. It seems
likely that the Cosireni was once called the "Sima-
ponte." Whether the Comberciato is the " Momori "
is hard to say.
To be the next to follow in the footsteps of Tupac
Amaru and Captain Garcia was the privilege of
Messrs. Heller, Ford, and Maynard. They found
that the unpleasant features had not been exag-
gerated. They were tormented by insects and great
quantities of ants — a small red ant found on tree
trunks, and a large black one, about an inch in
length, frequently seen among the leaves on the
ground. The bite of the red ant caused a stinging
and burning for about fifteen minutes. One of their
carriers who was bitten in the foot by a black ant
suffered intense pain for a number of hours. Not
only his foot, but also his leg and hip were affected.
The savages were both fishermen and hunters;
the fish being taken with nets, the game killed with
bows and arrows. Peccaries were shot from a blind
THE PAMPA OF GHOSTS 301
made of palm leaves a few feet from a runway.
Fishing brought rather meager results. Three In-
dians fished all night and caught only one fish, a
perch weighing about four pounds.
The temperature was so high that candles could
easily be tied in knots. Excessive humidity caused
all leather articles to become blue with mould.
Clouds of flies and mosquitoes increased the likeli-
hood of spreading communicable jungle fevers.
The river Comberciato was reached by Mr.
Heller at a point not more than a league from its
junction with the Urubamba. The lower course of
the Comberciato is not considered dangerous to
canoe navigation, but the valley is much narrower
than the Cosireni. The width of the river is about
150 feet and its volume is twice that of the Cosireni.
The climate is very trying. The nights are hot.
Insect pests are numerous. Mr. Heller found that
"the forest was filled with annoying, though sting-
less, bees which persisted in attempting to roost on
the countenance of any human being available."
On the banks of the Comberciato he found several
families of savages. All the men were keen hunters
and fishermen. Their weapons consisted of powerful
bows made from the wood of a small palm and long
arrows made of reeds and finished with feathers
arranged in a spiral.
Monkeys were abundant. Specimens of six dis-
tinct genera were found, including the large red
howler, inert and easily located by its deep, roaring
bellow which can be heard for a distance of several
miles; the giant black spider monkey, very alert,
302 INCA LAND
and, when frightened, fairly flying through the
branches at astonishing speed; and a woolly mon-
key, black in color, and very intelligent in expres-
sion, frequently tamed by the savages, who "enjoy
having them as pets but are not averse to eating
them when food is scarce." " The flesh of monkeys
is greatly appreciated by these Indians, who pre-
served what they did not require for immediate
needs by drying it over the smoke of a wood fire."
On the Cosireni Mr. Maynard noticed that one of
his Indian guides carried a package, wrapped in
leaves, which on being opened proved to contain
forty or fifty large hairless grubs or caterpillars.
The man finally bit their heads off and threw the
bodies into a small bag, saying that the grubs were
considered a great delicacy by the savages.
The Indians we met at Espiritu Pampa closely
resembled those seen in the lower valley. All our
savages were bareheaded and barefooted. They live
so much in the shelter of the jungle that hats are
not necessary. Sandals or shoes would only make
it harder to use the slippery little trails. They had
seen no strangers penetrate this valley for about
ten years, and at first kept their wives and children
well secluded. Later, when Messrs. Hendriksen and
Tucker were sent here to determine the astronomi-
cal position of Espiritu Pampa, the savages per-
mitted Mr. Tucker to take photographs of their
families. Perhaps it is doubtful whether they knew
just what he was doing. At all events they did not
run away and hide.
All the men and older boys wore white fillets of
w St'
p w
Cl,
THE PAMPA OF GHOSTS 303
bamboo. The married men had smeared paint on
their faces, and one of them was wearing the char-
acteristic lip ornament of the Campas. Some of the
children wore no clothing at all. Two of the wives
wore long tunics like the men. One of them had a
truly savage face, daubed with paint. She wore no
fillet, had the best tunic, and wore a handsome neck-
lace made of seeds and the skins of small birds of
brilliant plumage, a work of art which must have
cost infinite pains and the loss of not a few arrows.
All the women carried babies in little hammocks
slung over the shoulder. One little girl, not more
than six years old, was carrying on her back a child
of two, in a hammock supported from her head by
a tump-line. It will be remembered that forest In-
dians nearly always use tump-lines so as to allow
their hands free play. One of the wives was fairer
than the others and looked as though she might
have had a Spanish ancestor. The most savage-
looking of the women was very scantily clad, wore
a necklace of seeds, a white lip ornament, and a few
rags tied around her waist. All her children were
naked. The children of the woman with the hand-
some necklace were clothed in pieces of old tunics,
and one of them, evidently her mother's favorite,
was decorated with bird skins and a necklace made
from the teeth of monkeys.
Such were the people among whom Tupac Amaru
took refuge when he fled from Vilcabamba. Whether
he partook of such a delicacy as monkey meat,
which all Amazonian Indians relish, but which is
not eaten by the highlanders, may be doubted.
304 INCA LAND
Garcilasso speaks of Tupac Amaru's preferring to
entrust himself to the hands of the Spaniards
"rather than to perish of famine." His Indian
allies lived perfectly well in a region where monkeys
abound. It is doubtful whether they would ever
have permitted Captain Garcia to capture the Inca
had they been able to furnish Tupac with such food
as he was accustomed to.
At all events our investigations seem to point to
the probability of this valley having been an im-
portant part of the domain of the last Incas. It
would have been pleasant to prolong our studies,
but the carriers were anxious to return to Pampa-
conas. Although they did not have to eat monkey
meat, they were afraid of the savages and nervous
as to what use the latter might some day make of
the powerful bows and long arrows.
At Conservidayoc Saavedra kindly took the trou-
ble to make some sugar for us. He poured the
syrup in oblong moulds cut in a row along the side
of a big log of hard wood. In some of the moulds
his son placed handfuls of nicely roasted peanuts.
The result was a confection or "emergency ration"
which we greatly enjoyed on our return journey.
At San Fernando we met the pack mules. The
next day, in the midst of continuing torrential
tropical downpours, we climbed out of the hot val-
ley to the cold heights of Pampaconas. We were
soaked with perspiration and drenched with rain.
Snow had been falling above the village; our teeth
chattered like castanets. Professor Foote immedi-
ately commandeered Mrs. Guzman's fire and filled
THE PAMPA OF GHOSTS 305
our tea kettle. It may be doubted whether a more
wretched, cold, wet, and bedraggled party ever ar-
rived at Guzman's hut; certainly nothing ever
tasted better than that steaming hot sweet tea.
CHAPTER XVI
THE STORY OF TAMPU-TOCCO, A LOST CITY OF THE
FIRST INCAS
IT will be remembered that while on the search for
the capital of the last Incas we had found several
groups of ruins which we could not fit entirely into
the story of Manco and his sons. The most im-
portant of these was Machu Picchu. Many of its
buildings are far older than the ruins of Rosaspata
and Espiritu Pampa. To understand just what we
may have found at Machu Picchu it Is now neces-
sary to tell the story of a celebrated city, whose
name, Tampu-tocco, was not used even at the time
of the Spanish Conquest as the cognomen of any of
the Inca towns then in existence. I must draw the
reader's attention far away from the period when
Pizarro and Manco, Toledo and Tupac Amaru were
the protagonists, back to events which occurred
nearly seven hundred years before their day. The
last Incas ruled in Uiticos between 1536 and 1572.
The last Amautas flourished about 800 a.d.
The Amautas had been ruling the Peruvian high-
lands for about sixty generations, when, as has been
told in Chapter VI, invaders came from the south
and east. The Amautas had built up a wonderful
civilization. Many of the agricultural and engineer-
ing feats which we ordinarily assign to the Incas
were really achievements of the Amautas. The last
of the Amautas was Pachacuti VI, who was killed
THE STORY OF TAMPU-TOCCO 307
by an arrow on the battle-field of La Raya. The
historian Montesinos, whose work on the antiqui-
ties of Peru has recently been translated for the
Hakluyt Society by Mr. P. A. Means, of Harvard
University, tells us that the followers of Pachacuti
VI fled with his body to "Tampu-tocco." This,
says the historian, was "a healthy place" where
there was a cave in which they hid the Amauta's
body. Cuzco, the finest and most important of all
their cities, was sacked. General anarchy prevailed
throughout the ancient empire. The good old days
of peace and plenty disappeared before the invader.
The glory of the old empire was destroyed, not to
return for several centuries. In these dark ages,
resembling those of European medieval times which
followed the Germanic migrations and the fall of
the Roman Empire, Peru was split up into a large
number of small independent units. Each district
chose its own ruler and carried on depredations
against its neighbors. The effects of this may still
be seen in the ruins of small fortresses found guard-
ing the way into isolated Andean valleys.
Montesinos says that those who were most loyal
to the Amautas were few in number and not strong
enough to oppose their enemies successfully. Some
of them, probably the principal priests, wise men,
and chiefs of the ancient regime, built a new city at
"Tampu-tocco." Here they kept alive the memory
of the Amautas and lived in such a relatively civi-
lized manner as to draw to them, little by little,
those who wished to be safe from the prevailing
chaos and disorder and the tyranny of the inde-
308 INCA LAND
pendent chiefs or "robber barons." In their new
capital, they elected a king, Titi Truaman Quicho.
The survivors of the old regime enjoyed living at
Tampu-tocco, because there never have been any
earthquakes, plagues, or tremblings there. Further-
more, if fortune should turn against their new young
king, Titi Truaman, and he should be killed, they
could bury him in a very sacred place, namely, the
cave where they hid the body of Pachacuti VI.
Fortune was kind to the founders of the new
kingdom. They had chosen an excellent place of
refuge where they were not disturbed. To their
ruler, the king of Tampu-tocco, and to his successors
nothing worth recording happened for centuries.
During this period several of the kings wished to
establish themselves in ancient Cuzco, where the
great Amautas had reigned, but for one reason or
another were obliged to forego their ambitions.
One of the most enlightened rulers of Tampu-
tocco was a king called Tupac Cauri, or Pachacuti
VII. In his day people began to write on the
leaves of trees. He sent messengers to the various
parts of the highlands, asking the tribes to stop
worshiping idols and animals, to cease practicing
evil customs which had grown up since the fall
of the Amautas, and to return to the ways of their
ancestors. He met with little encouragement. On
the contrary, his ambassadors were killed and little
or no change took place. Discouraged by the failure
of his attempts at reformation and desirous of
learning its cause, Tupac Cauri was told by his
soothsayers that the matter which most displeased
THE STORY OF TAMPU-TOCCO 309
the gods was the invention of writing. Thereupon
he forbade anybody to practice writing, under
penalty of death. This mandate was observed with
such strictness that the ancient folk never again
used letters. Instead, they used quipus, strings and
knots. It was supposed that the gods were ap-
peased, and every one breathed easier. No one re-
alized how near the Peruvians as a race had come
to taking a most momentous step.
This curious and interesting tradition relates to
an event supposed to have occurred many centuries
before the Spanish Conquest. We have no ocular
evidence to support it. The skeptic may brush it
aside as a story intended to appeal to the vanity of
persons with Inca blood in their veins; yet it is not
told by the half-caste Garcilasso, who wanted Euro-
peans to admire his maternal ancestors and wrote
his book accordingly, but is in the pages of that
careful investigator Montesinos, a pure-blooded
Spaniard. As a matter of fact, to students of Sum-
ner's "Folkways," the story rings true. Some
3'oung fellow, brighter than the rest, developed a
system of ideographs which he scratched on broad,
smooth leaves. It worked. People were beginning
to adopt it. The conservative priests of Tampu-
tocco did not like it. There was danger lest some of
the precious secrets, heretofore handed down orally
to the neophytes, might become public property.
Nevertheless, the invention was so useful that it
began to spread. There followed some extremely
unlucky event — the ambassadors were killed, the
king's plans miscarried. What more natural than
310 INCA LAND
that the newly discovered ideographs should be
blamed for it? As a result, the king of Tampu-tocco,
instigated thereto by the priests, determined to
abolish this new thing. Its usefulness had not yet
been firmly established. In fact it was inconvenient;
the leaves withered, dried, and cracked, or blew
away, and the writings were lost. Had the new in-
vention been permitted to exist a little longer, some
one would have commenced to scratch ideographs
on rocks. Then it would have persisted. The rulers
and priests, however, found that the important
records of tribute and taxes could be kept perfectly
well by means of the quipus. And the "job" of
those whose duty it was to remember what each
string stood for was assured. After all there is noth-
ing unusual about Montesinos' story. One has only
to look at the history of Spain itself to realize that
royal bigotry and priestly intolerance have often
crushed new ideas and kept great nations from
making important advances.
Montesinos says further that Tupac Caurl estab-
lished in Tampu-tocco a kind of university where
boys were taught the use of quipus, the method of
counting and the significance of the different colored
strings, while their fathers and older brothers were
trained in military exercises — in other words,
practiced with the sling, the bolas and the war-club;
perhaps also with bows and arrows. Around the
name of Tupac Cauri, or Pachacuti VII, as he wished
to be called, is gathered the story of various intel-
lectual movements which took place in Tampu-tocco.
Finally, there came a time when the skill and
THE STORY OF TAMPU-TOCCO 311
military efficiency of the little kingdom rose to a
high plane. The ruler and his councilors, bearing in
mind the tradition of their ancestors who centuries
before had dwelt in Cuzco, again determined to
make the attempt to reestablish themselves there.
An earthquake, which ruined many buildings in
Cuzco, caused rivers to change their courses, de-
stroyed towns, and was followed by the outbreak of a
disastrous epidemic. The chiefs were obliged to give
up their plans, although in healthy Tampu-tocco
there was no pestilence. Their kingdom became more
and more crowded. Every available square yard of
arable land was terraced and cultivated. The men
were intelligent, well organized, and accustomed to
discipline, but they could not raise enough food for
their families; so, about 1300 A.D., they were forced
to secure arable land by conquest, under the leader-
ship of the energetic ruler of the day. His name was
Manco Ccapac, generally called the first Inca, the
ruler for whom the Manco of 1536 was named.
There are many stories of the rise of the first Inca.
When he had grown to man's estate, he assembled
his people to see how he could secure new lands for
them. After consultation with his brothers, he de-
termined to set out with them "toward the hill over
which the sun rose," as we are informed by Pacha-
cuti Yamqui Salcamayhua, an Indian who was a
descendant of a long line of Incas, whose great-
grandparents lived in the time of the Spanish Con-
quest, and who wrote an account of the antiquities
of Peru in 1620. He gives the history of the Incas as
it was handed down to the descendants of the former
312 INCA LAND
rulers of Peru. In it we read that Manco Ccapac
and his brothers finally succeeded in reaching Cuzco
and settled there. With the return of the descend-
ants of the Amautas to Cuzco there ended the glory
of Tampu-tocco. Manco married his own sister in
order that he might not lose caste and that no other
family be elevated by this marriage to be on an
equality with his. He made good laws, conquered
many provinces, and is regarded as the founder of
the Inca dynasty. The highlanders came under his
sway and brought him rich presents. The Inca, as
Manco Ccapac now came to be known, was recog-
nized as the most powerful chief, the most valiant
fighter, and the most lucky warrior in the Andes.
His captains and soldiers were brave, well disciplined,
and well armed. All his affairs prospered greatly.
"Afterward he ordered works to be executed at the place
oj his birth, consisting of a masonry wall with three
windows, which were emblems of the house of his
fathers whence he descended. The first window was
called Tampu-tocco.'^ I quote from Sir Clements
Markham's translation.
The Spaniards who asked about Tampu-tocco
were told that it was at or near Paccaritampu, a
small town eight or ten miles south of Cuzco. I
learned that ruins are very scarce in its vicinity.
There are none in the town. The most important
are the ruins of Maucallacta, an Inca village, a few
miles away. Near it I found a rocky hill consisting
of several crags and large rocks, the surface of one of
which is carved into platforms and two sleeping
pumas. It is called Puma Urco. Beneath the rocks
^i^ .t^C^"i*yH».
"^ ^ - *^ ,>i
THE STORY OF TAMPU-TOCCO 313
are some caves. I was told they had recently been
used by political refugees. There is enough about
the caves and the characteristics of the ruins near
Paccaritampu to lend color to the story told to the
early Spaniards. Nevertheless, it would seem as if
Tampu-tocco must have been a place more remote
from Cuzco and better defended by Nature from
any attacks on that side. How else would it have
been possible for the disorganized remnant of Pacha-
cuti VI's army to have taken refuge there and set up
an independent kingdom in the face of the warlike
invaders from the south? A few men might have hid
in the caves of Puma Urco, but Paccaritampu is
not a natural citadel.
The surrounding region is not difficult of access.
There are no precipices between here and the Cuzco
Basin. There are no natural defenses against such
an invading force as captured the capital of the
Amautas. Furthermore, tampu means "a place of
temporary abode," or "a tavern," or "an improved
piece of ground" or "farm far from a town"; tocco
means "window." There is an old tavern at Mau-
callacta near Paccaritampu, but there are no win-
dows in the building to justify the name of "window
tavern" or "place of temporary abode" (or " farm
far from a town") "noted for its windows." There
is nothing of a "masonry wall with three win-
dows" corresponding to Salcamayhua's description
of Manco Ccapac's memorial at his birthplace. The
word "Tampu-tocco" does not occur on any map
I have been able to consult, nor is it in the exhaust-
ive gazetteer of Peru compiled by Paz Soldan.
CHAPTER XVII
MACHU PICCHU
IT was In July, 191 1, that we first entered that
marvelous canyon^ of the JJrubamba, where the
river escapes from the cold regions near Cuzco
by tearing its way through gigantic mountains of
granite. From Torontoy to Colpani the road runs
through a land of matchless charm. It has the majes-
tic grandeur of the Canadian Rockies, as well as the
startling beauty of the Nuuanu Pali near Honolulu,
and the enchanting vistas of the Koolau Ditch Trail
on Maui. In the variety of its charms and the power
of its spell, I know of no place in the world which can
compare with it. Not only has it great snow peaks
looming above the clouds more than two miles over-
head; gigantic precipices of many-colored granite
rising sheer for thousands of feet above the foam-
ing, glistening, roaring rapids; it has also, in strik-
ing contrast, orchids and tree ferns, the delectable
beauty of luxurious vegetation, and the mysterious
witchery of the jungle. One is drawn irresistibly
onward by ever-recurring surprises through a deep,
winding gorge, turning and twisting past overhang-
ing cliffs of incredible height. Above all, there is the
fascination of finding here and there under the sway-
ing vines, or perched on top of a beetling crag, the
rugged masonry of a bygone race; and of trying to
understand the bewildering romance of the ancient
MACHU PICCHU 315
builders who ages ago sought refuge in a region
which appears to have been expressly designed by
Nature as a sanctuary for the oppressed, a place
where they might fearlessly and patiently give ex-
pression to their passion for walls of enduring
beauty. Space forbids any attempt to describe in
detail the constantly changing panorama, the rank
tropical foliage, the countless terraces, the towering
clifTs, the glaciers peeping out between the clouds.
We had camped at a place near the river, called
Mandor Pampa. Melchor Arteaga, proprietor of the
neighboring farm, had told us of ruins at Machu
Picchu, as was related in Chapter X.
The morning of July 24th dawned in a cold
drizzle. Arteaga shivered and seemed inclined to
stay in his hut. I offered to pay him well if he would '^
show me the ruins. He demurred and said it was
too hard a climb for such a wet day. When he found
that we were willing to pay him a sol, three or four
times the ordinary daily wage in this vicinity, he
finally agreed to guide us to the ruins. No one sup-
posed that they would be particularly interesting.
Accompanied by Sergeant Carrasco I left camp at ■
ten o'clock and went some distance upstream. On
the road we passed a venomous snake which re-
cently had been killed. This region has an unpleas-
ant notoriety for being the favorite haunt of
"vipers." The lance-headed or yellow viper, com-
monly known as the fer-de-lance, a very venomous
serpent capable of making considerable springs
when in pursuit of its prey, is common hereabouts.
Later two of our mules died from snake-bite.
3i6 INCA LAND
After a walk of three quarters of an hour the
guide left the main road and plunged down through
the jungle to the bank of the river. Here there was
a primitive "bridge" which crossed the roaring
rapids at its narroweslrpart, where the stream was
forced to flow between two great boulders. The
bridge was made of half a dozen very slender logs,
some of which were not long enough to span the
distance between the boulders. They had been
spliced and lashed together with vines. Arteaga
and Carrasco took off their shoes and crept gingerly
across, using their somewhat prehensile toes to
keep from slipping. It was obvious that no one
could have lived for an instant in the rapids, but
would immediately have been dashed to pieces
against granite boulders. I am frank to confess
that I got down on hands and knees and crawled
across, six inches at a time. Even after we reached
the other side I could not help wondering what
would happen to the "bridge" if a particularly
heavy shower should fall in the valley above. A
light rain had fallen during the night. The river had
risen so that the bridge was already threatened by
the foaming rapids. It would not take much more
rain to wash away the bridge entirely. If this should
happen during the day it might be very awkward.
As a matter of fact, it did happen a few days later
and the next explorers to attempt to cross the river
at this point found only one slender log remaining.
Leaving the stream, we struggled up the bank
through a dense jungle, and in a few minutes reached
the bottom of a precipitous slope. For an hour and
MACHU PICCHU 317
twenty minutes we had a hard climb. A good part
of the distance we went on all fours, sometimes
hanging on by the tips of our fingers. Here and
there, a primitive ladder made from the roughly
hewn trunk of a small tree was placed in such a way
as to help one over what might otherwise have
proved to be an impassable cliff. In another place
the slope was covered with slippery grass where
it was hard to find either handholds or footholds.
The guide said that there were lots of snakes here.
The humidity was great, the heat was excessive,
and we were not in training.
Shortly after noon we reached a little grass-
covered hut where several good-natured Indians,
pleasantly surprised at our unexpected arrival, wel-
comed us with dripping gourds full of cool, delicious
water. Then they set before us a few cooked sweet
potatoes, called here cumara, a Quichua word identi-
cal with the Polynesian kumala, as has been pointed
out by Mr. Cook.
Apart from the wonderful view of the canyon,
all we could see from our cool shelter was a couple
of small grass huts and a few ancient stone-faced
terraces. Two pleasant Indian farmers, Richarte
and Alvarez, had chosen this eagle's nest for their
home. They said they had found plenty of terraces
here on which to grow their crops and they were
usually free from undesirable visitors. They did not
speak Spanish, but through Sergeant Carrasco I
learned that there were more ruins "a little farther
along." In this country one never can tell whether
such a report is worthy of credence. "He may have
3i8 INCA LAND
been lying" is a good footnote to affix to all hearsay
evidence. Accordingly, I was not unduly excited,
nor in a great hurry to move. The heat was still
great, the water from the Indian's spring was cool
and delicious, and the rustic wooden bench, hos-
pitably covered immediately after my arrival with
a soft, woolen poncho, seemed most comfortable.
Furthermore, the view was simply enchanting.
Tremendous green precipices fell away to the white
rapids of the Urubamba below. Immediately in
front, on the north side of the valley, was a great
granite cliff rising 2000 feet sheer. To the left was
the solitary peak of Huayna Picchu, surrounded by
seemingly inaccessible precipices. On all sides were
rocky cliffs. Beyond them cloud-capped mountains
rose thousands of feet above us.
The Indians said there were two paths to the out-
side world. Of one we had already had a taste; the
other, they said, was more difficult — a perilous
path down the face of a rocky precipice on the other
side of the ridge. It was their only means of egre.ss
in the wet season, when the bridge over which we
had come could not be maintained. I was not sur-
prised to learn that they went away from home only
"about once a month."
Richarte told us that they had been living here
four years. It seems probable that, owing to its
inaccessibility, the canyon had been unoccupied for
several centuries, but with the completion of the
new government road settlers began once more to
occupy this region. In time somebody clambered up
the precipices and found on the slopes of Machu
MACHU PICCHU 319
PIcchu, at an elevation of 9000 feet above the sea,
an abundance of rich soil conveniently situated on
artificial terraces, in a fine climate. Here the Indians
had finally cleared off some ruins, burned over a few
terraces, and planted crops of maize, sweet and
white potatoes, sugar cane, beans, peppers, tree
tomatoes, and gooseberries. At first they appropri-
ated some of the ancient houses and replaced the
roofs of wood and thatch. They found, however,
that there were neither springs nor wells near the
ancient buildings. An ancient aqueduct which had
once brought a tiny stream to the citadel had long
since disappeared beneath the forest, filled with
earth washed from the upper terraces. So, abandon-
ing the shelter of the ruins, the Indians were now
enjoying the convenience of living near some springs
in roughly built thatched huts of their own design.
Without the slightest expectation of finding any-
thing more interesting than the stone-faced terraces
of which I already had a glimpse, and the ruins of
two or three stone houses such as we had encoun-
tered at various places on the road between Ollan-
taytambo and Torontoy, I finally left the cool shade
of the pleasant little hut and climbed farther up the
ridge and around a slight promontory. Arteaga had
"been here once before," and decided to rest and
gossip with Richarte and Alvarez in the hut. They
sent a small boy with me as a guide.
Hardly had we rounded the promontory when the
character of the stonework began to improve. A
flight of beautifully constructed terraces, each two
hundred yards long and ten feet high, had been
320 INCA LAND
recently rescued from the jungle by the Indians.
A forest of large trees had been chopped down and
burned over to make a clearing for agricultural pur-
poses. Crossing these terraces, I entered the un-
touched forest beyond, and suddenly found myself
in a maze of beautiful granite houses! They were
covered with trees and moss and the growth of cen-
turies, but in the dense shadow, hiding In bamboo
thickets and tangled vines, could be seen, here and
there, walls of white granite ashlars most carefully
cut and exquisitely fitted together. Buildings with
windows were frequent. Here at least was a "place
far from town and conspicuous for its windows."
Under a carved rock the little boy showed me a
cave beautifully lined with the finest cut stone.
It was evidently intended to be a Royal Mauso-
leum. On top of this particular boulder a semi-
circular building had been constructed. The wall
followed the natural curvature of the rock and was
keyed to it by one of the finest examples of masonry
I have ever seen. This beautiful wall, made of care-
fully matched ashlars of pure white granite, espe-
cially selected for its fine grain, was the work of a
master artist. The interior surface of the wall was
broken by niches and square stone-pegs. The ex-
terior surface was perfectly simple and unadorned.
The lower courses, of particularly large ashlars,
gave it a look of solidity. The upper courses, dimin-
ishing in size toward the top, lent grace and deli-
cacy to the structure. The flowing lines, the sym-
metrical arrangement of the ashlars, and the gradual
gradation of the courses, combined to produce a
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o
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W D <
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MACHU PICCHU 321
wonderful effect, softer and mor e pleasi ng than that
oFthe m arble ~temples of tEe Old Wor ld. Owing to
the absence of mortar, there are no ugly spaces be-
tween the rocks. They might have grown together.
The elusive beauty of this chaste, undecorated
surface seems to me to be due to the fact that the
wall was built under the eye of a master mason who
knew not the straight edge, the plumb rule, or the
square. He had no instruments of precision, so he
had to depend on his eye. He had a good eye, an
artistic eye, an eye for symmetry and beauty of
form. His product received none of the harshness of
mechanical and mathematical accuracy. The appar-
ently rectangular blocks are not really rectangular.
The apparently straight lines of the courses are not
actually straight in the exact sense of that term.
To my astonishment I saw that this wall and its
adjoining semicircular temple over the cave were
as fine as the finest stonework in the far-famed
Temple of the Sun in Cuzco. Surprise followed sur-
prise in bewildering succession. I climbed a marvel-
ous great stairway of large granite blocks, walked
along a pampa where the Indians had a small vege-
table garden, and came into a little clearing. Here
were the ruins of two of the fine st structures I have
ever seen in Peru. Not only were they made of
selected blocks of beautifully grained white granite;
their walls contained ashlars of Cyclopean size, ten
feet in length, and higher than a man. The sight
held me spellbound.
'^ach building had only three walls and was
entirely open on the side toward the clearing. The
322 INCA LAND
principal temple was lined with exquisitely made
niches, five high up at each end, and seven on the
back wail. There were seven courses of ashlars in the
end walls. Under the seven rear niches was a rec-
tangular block fourteen feet long, probably a sacri-
ficial altar. The building did not look as though
it had ever had a roof. The top course of beauti-
fully smooth ashlars was not intended to be covered.
The other temple is on the east side of the pampa.
I called it the Temple of the Three Windows. Like
its neighbor, it is unique among Inca ruins. Its
eastern wall, overlooking the citadel, is a massive
stone framework for three conspicuously large win-
dows, obviously too large to serve any useful pur-
pose, yet most beautifully made with the greatest
care and solidity. This was clearly a ceremonial edi-
fice of peculiar significance. Nowhere else in Peru,
so far as I know, is there a similar structure con-
spicuous as "a masonry wall with three windows."
These ruins have no other name than that of the
mountain on the slopes of which they are located.
Had this place been occupied uninterruptedly, like
Cuzco and Ollantaytambo, Machu Picchu would
have retained its ancient name, but during the cen-
turies when it was abandoned, its name was lost.
Examination showed that it was essentially a forti-
fied place, a remote fastness protected by natural
bulwarks, of which man took advantage to create
the most impregnable stronghold in the Andes.
Our subsequent excavations and the clearing made
in 1912, to be described in a subsequent volume, has
shown that this was the chief place in Uilcapampa.
MACHU PICCHU 323
I — ^ It did not take an expert to realiz e, from th e
/ glimpse of Machu Picchu on that rainy day. in July,
/ 191 1, when Sergeant Carrasco and I first saw it,
1 that here were most extraordinary and interesting
j ruins. Although the ridge had been partly cleared
by the Indians for their fields of maize, so much of it
was still underneath a thick jungle growth — some
walls were actually supporting trees ten and twelve
inches in diameter — that it was impossible to
determine just what would be found here. As soon
as I could get hold of Mr. Tucker, who was assisting
Mr. Hendriksen, and Mr. Lanius, who had gone
down the Urubamba with Dr. Bowman, I asked
them to make a map of the ruins. I knew it would be
a difficult undertaking and that it was essential for
Mr. Tucker to join me in Arequipa not later than
the first of October for the ascent of Coropuna.
With the hearty aid of Richarte and Alvarez, the
surveyors did better than I expected. In the ten
days while they were at the ruins they were able
to secure data from which Mr. Tucker afterwards
prepared a map which told better than could any
words of mine the importance of this site and the
necessity for further investigation.
With the possible exception of one mining pros-
pector, no one in Cuzco had seen the ruins of Machu
Picchu or appreciated their importance. No one
had any realization of what an extraordinary place
lay on top of the ridge. It had never been visited
by any of the planters of the lower Urubamba
Valley who annually passed over the road which
winds through the canyon two thousand feet below.
324 INCA LAND
It seems incredible that this citadel, less than
three days' journey from Cuzco, should have re-
mained so long undescribed by travelers and com-
paratively unknown even to the Peruvians them-
selves. If the conquistador es ever saw this wonderful
place, some reference to it surely would have been
made; yet nothing can be found which clearly re-
fers to the ruins of Machu Picchu. Just when it was
first seen by a Spanish-speaking person is uncertain.
When the Count de Sartiges was at Huadquiiia in
1834 he was looking for ruins; yet, although so near,
he heard of none here. From a crude scrawl on the
walls of one of the finest buildings, we learned that
the ruins were visited in 1902 by Lizarraga, lessee
of the lands immediately below the bridge of San
Miguel. This is the earliest local record. Yet some
one must have visited Machu Picchu long before
that; because in 1875, as has been said, the French
explorer Charles Wiener heard in Ollantaytambo
of there being ruins at "Huaina- Picchu or Matcho-
Picchu." He tried to find them. That he failed was
due to there being no road through the canyon of
Torontoy and the necessity of making a wide detour
through the pass of Panticalla and the Lucumayo
Valley, a route which brought him to the Urubamba
River at the bridge of Chuquichaca, twenty-five
miles below Machu Picchu.
It was not until 1890 that the Peruvian Govern-
ment, recognizing the needs of the enterprising
planters who were opening up the lower valley of
the Urubamba, decided to construct a mule trail
along the banks of the river through the grand
i^C ■ '^^5^d:%fe/.
MACHU PICCHU 325
canyon to enable the much-desired coca and aguar-
diente to be shipped from Huadquifia, Maranura,
and Santa Ana to Cuzco more quickly and cheaply
than formerly. This road avoids the necessity of
carrying the precious cargoes over the dangerous
snowy passes of Mt. Veronica and Mt. Salcantay,
so vividly described by Raimondi, de Sartiges, and
others. The road, however, was very expensive,
took years to build, and still requires frequent repair.
In fact, even to-day travel over it is often suspended
for several days or weeks at a time, following some
tremendous avalanche. Yet it was this new road
which had led Melchor Arteaga to build his hut
near the arable land at Mandor Pampa, where he
could raise food for his family and offer rough shelter
to passing travelers. It was this new road which
brought Richarte, Alvarez, and their enterprising
friends into this little-known region, gave them
the opportunity of occupying the ancient terraces of
Machu Picchu, which had lain fallow for centuries,
encouraged them to keep open a passable trail over
the precipices, and made it feasible for us to reach
the ruins. It was this new road which offered us in
191 1 a virgin field between Ollantaytambo and
Huadquifia and enabled us to learn that the Incas,
or their predecessors, had once lived here in the
remote fastnesses of the Andes, and had left stone
witnesses of the magnificence and beauty of their
ancient civilization, more interesting and extensive
than any which have been found since the days of
the Spanish Conquest of Peru.
CHAPTER XVril
THE ORIGIN OF MACHU PICCHU
SOME Other day I hope to tell of the work of
clearing and excavating Machu Picchu, of the
life lived by its citizens, and of the ancient towns of
which it was the most important. At present I must
rest content with a discussion of its probable iden-
tity. Here was a powerful citadel tenable against
all odds, a stronghold where a mere handful of de-
fenders could prevent a great army from taking the
place by assault. Why should any one have desired
to be so secure from capture as to have built a
fortress in such an inaccessible place?
The builders were not in search of fields. There
is so little arable land here that every square yard
of earth had to be terraced in order to provide
food for the inhabitants. They were not looking for
comfort or convenience. Safety was their primary
consideration. They were sufficiently civilized to
practice intensive agriculture, sufficiently skillful
to equal the best masonry the world has ever seen,
sufficiently ingenious to make delicate bronzes, and
sufficiently advanced in art to realize the beauty
of simplicity. What could have induced such a peo-
ple to select this remote fastness of the Andes, with
all its disadvantages, as the site for their capital,
unless they were fleeing from powerful enemies.
The thought will already have occurred to the
THE ORIGIN OF MACHU PICCHU 327
reader that the Temple of the Three Windows at
Machu PIcchu fits the words of that native writer
who had "heard from a child the most ancient
traditions and histories," including the story al-
ready quoted from Sir Clements Markham's trans-
lation that Manco Ccapac, the first Inca, "ordered
works to be executed at the place of his birth; con-
sisting of a masonry wall with three windows, which
were emblems of the house of his fathers whence he
descended. The first window was called 'Tampu-
tocco.'" Although none of the other chroniclers
gives the story of the first Inca ordering a memorial
wall to be built at the place of his birth, they nearly
all tell of his having come from a place called
Tampu-tocco, "an inn or country place remarkable
for its windows." Sir Clements Markham, in his
" Incas of Peru," refers to Tampu-tocco as "the hill
with the three openings or windows."
The place assigned by all the chroniclers as the
location of the traditional Tampu-tocco, as has been
said, is Paccaritampu, about nine miles southwest of
Cuzco. Paccaritampu has some interesting ruins
and caves, but careful examination shows that while
there are more than three openings to its caves,
there are no windows in its buildings. The build-
ings of Machu Picchu, on the other hand, have far
more windows than any other important ruin in
Peru. The climate of Paccaritampu, like that of
most places in the highlands, is too severe to invite
or encourage the use of windows. The climate
of Machu Picchu is mild, consequently the use of
windows was natural and agreeable.
328 INCA LAND
So far as I know, there is no place in Peru where
the ruins consist of anything Hke a "masonry wall
with three windows" of such a ceremonial character
as is here referred to, except at Machu Picchu.
It would certainly seem as though the Temple of
the Three Windows, the most significant structure
within the citadel, is the building referred to by
Pachacuti Yamqui Salcamayhua.
The principal difficulty with this theory is that
while the first meaning of tocco in Holguin's stand-
ard Quichua dictionary is ^'ventana'' or "window,"
and while "window" is the only meaning given this
important word in Markham's revised Quichua
dictionary (1908), a dictionary compiled from many
sources, the second meaning of tocco given by Hol-
guin is *'alacena," "a cupboard set in a wall." Un-
doubtedly this means what we call, in the ruins of
the houses of the Incas, a niche. Now the drawings,
crude as they are, in Sir Clements Markham's
translation of the Salcamayhua manuscript, do give
the impression of niches rather than of windows.
Does Tampu-tocco mean a tampu remarkable for Its
niches? At Paccari tampu there do not appear to be
any particularly fine niches; while at Machu Picchu,
on the other hand, there are many very beautiful
niches, especially in the cave which has been re-
ferred to as a "Royal Mausoleum." As a matter of
fact, nearly all the finest ruins of the Incas have
excellent niches. Since niches were so common a
feature of Inca architecture, the chances are that
Sir Clements is right in translating Salcamayhua as
he did and in calling Tampu-tocco "the hill with
THE ORIGIN OF MACHU PICCHU 329
the three openings or windows." In any case Machu
Picchu fits the story far better than does Paccari-
tampu. However, in view of the fact that the early
writers all repeat the story that Tampu-tocco was
at Paccaritampu, it would be absurd to say that
they did not know what they were talking about,
even though the actual remains at or near Paccari-
tampu do not fit the requirements.
It would be easier to adopt Paccaritampu as the
site of Tampu-tocco were it not for the legal records
of an inquiry made by Toledo at the time when he
put the last Inca to death. Fifteen Indians, de-
scended from those who used to live near Las
Salinas, the important salt works near Cuzco, on
being questioned, agreed that they had heard their
fathers and grandfathers repeat the tradition that
when the first Inca, Manco Ccapac, captured their
lands, he came from Tampu-tocco. They did not
say that the first Inca came from Paccaritampu,
which, it seems to me, would have been a most
natural thing for them to have said if this were the
general belief of the natives. In addition there is the
still older testimony of some Indians born before
the arrival of the first Spaniards, who were examined
at a legal investigation in 1570. A chief, aged ninety-
two, testified that Manco Ccapac came out of a cave
called Tocco, and that he was lord of the town near
that cave. Not one of the witnesses stated that
Manco Ccapac came from Paccaritampu, although
it is difficult to imagine why they should not have
done so if, as the contemporary historians believed,
this was really the original Tampu-tocco. The
330 INCA LAND
chroniclers were willing enough to accept the inter-
esting cave near Paccaritampu as the place where
Manco Ccapac was born, and from which he came
to conquer Cuzco. Why were the sworn witnesses
so reticent? It seems hardly possible that they
should have forgotten where Tampu-tocco was
supposed to have been. Was their reticence due to
the fact that Its actual whereabouts had been suc-
cessfully kept secret? Manco Ccapac's home was
that Tampu-tocco to which the followers of Pacha-
cuti VI fled with his body after the overthrow of the
old regime, a very secluded and holy place. Did
they know it was in the same fastnesses of the
Andes to which in the days of Pizarro the young
Inca Manco had fled from Cuzco? Was this the
cause of their reticence?
Certainly the requirements of Tampu-tocco are
met at Machu Picchu. The splendid natural de-
fenses of the Grand Canyon of the Urubamba made
it an ideal refuge for the descendants of the Amautas
during the centuries of lawlessness and confusion
which succeeded the barbarian invasions from the
plains to the east and south. The scarcity of violent
earthquakes and also its healthfulness, both marked
characteristics of Tampu-tocco, are met at Machu
Picchu. It is worth noting that the existence of
Machu Picchu might easily have been concealed
from the common people. At the time of the Span-
ish Conquest its location might have been known
only to the Inca and his priests.
So, notwithstanding the belief of the historians, I
feel it is reasonable to conclude that the first name
THE ORIGIN OF MACHU PICCHU 331
of the ruins at Machu Picchu was Tampu-tocco.
Here Pachacuti VI was buried; here was the capital
of the little kingdom where during the centuries
between the Amautas and the Incas there was kept
alive the wisdom, skill, and best traditions of the
ancient folk who had developed the civilization of
Peru.
It is well to remember that the defenses of Cuzco
were of little avail before the onslaught of the war-
like invaders. The great organization of farmers
and masons, so successful in its ability to perform
mighty feats of engineering with primitive tools of
wood, stone, and bronze, had crumbled away before
the attacks of savage hordes who knew little of the
arts of peace. The defeated leaders had to choose
a region where they might live in safety from their
fierce enemies. Furthermore, in the environs of
Machu Picchu they found every variety of climate
— valleys so low as to produce the precious coca^
yucca, and plantain, the fruits and vegetables of the
tropics ; slopes high enough to be suitable for many
varieties of maize, quinoa, and other cereals, as well
as their favorite root crops, including both sweet
and white potatoes, oca, anu, and ullucu. Here,
within a few hours' journey, they could find days
warm enough to dry and cure the coca leaves ; nights
cold enough to freeze potatoes in the approved
aboriginal fashion.
Although the amount of arable land which could
be made available with the most careful terracing
was not large enough to support a very great popu-
lation, Machu Picchu offered an impregnable citadel
332 INCA LAND
to the chiefs and priests and their handful of fol-
lowers who were obliged to flee from the rich plains
near Cuzco and the broad, pleasant valley of Yucay.
Only dire necessity and terror could have forced a
people which had reached such a stage in engineer-
ing, architecture, and agriculture, to leave hospitable
valleys and tablelands for rugged canyons. Cer-
tainly there is no part of the Andes less fitted by
nature to meet the requirements of an agricultural
folk, unless their chief need was a safe refuge and
retreat.
Here the wise remnant of the Amautas ultimately
developed great ability. In the face of tremendous
natural obstacles they utilized their ancient craft to
wrest a living from the soil. Hemmed in between
the savages of the Amazon jungles below and their
enemies on the plateau above, they must have car-
ried on border warfare for generations. Aided by
the temperate climate in which they lived, and the
ability to secure a wide variety of food within a few
hours' climb up or down from their towns and
cities, they became a hardy, vigorous tribe which in
the course of time burst its boundaries, fought its
way back to the rich Cuzco Valley, overthrew the
descendants of the ancient invaders and established,
with Cuzco as a capital, the Empire of the Incas.
After the first Inca, Manco Ccapac, had estab-
lished himself in Cuzco, what more natural than
that he should have built a fine temple in honor of
his ancestors. Ancestor worship was common to the
Incas, and nothing would have been more reason-
able than the construction of the Temple of the
THE ORIGIN OF MACHU PICCHU 333
Three Windows. As the Incas grew in power and
extended their rule over the ancient empire of the
Cuzco Amautas from whom they traced their de-
scent, superstitious regard would have led them to
establish their chief temples and palaces in the city
of Cuzco itself. There was no longer any necessity
to maintain the citadel of Tampu-tocco. It was
probably deserted, while Cuzco grew and the Inca
Empire flourished.
As the Incas increased in power they invented
various myths to account for their origin. One of
these traced their ancestry to the islands of Lake
Titicaca. Finally the very location of Manco
Ccapac's birthplace was forgotten by the common
people — although undoubtedly known to the priests
and those who preserved the most sacred secrets of
the Incas.
Then came Pizarro and the bigoted conquista-
dores. The native chiefs faced the necessity of saving
whatever was possible of the ancient religion. The
Spaniards coveted gold and silver. The most pre-
cious possessions of the Incas, however, were not
images and utensils, but the sacred Virgins of the
Sun, who, like the Vestal Virgins of Rome, were
from their earliest childhood trained to the service
of the great Sun God. Looked at from the stand-
point of an agricultural people who needed the sun
to bring their food crops to fruition and keep them
from hunger, it was of the utmost importance to
placate him with sacrifices and secure the good
effects of his smiling face. If he delayed his coming
or kept himself hidden behind the clouds, the maize
334 INCA LAND
would mildew and the ears would not properly
ripen. If he did not shine with his accustomed
brightness after the harvest, the ears of corn could
not be properly dried and kept over to the next
year. In short, any unusual behavior on the part of
the sun meant hunger and famine. Consequently
their most beautiful daughters were consecrated to
his service, as "Virgins" who lived in the temple
and ministered to the wants of priests and rulers.
Human sacrifice had long since been given up in
Peru and its place taken by the consecration of these
damsels. Some of the Virgins of the Sun in Cuzco
were captured. Others escaped and accompanied
Manco into the inaccessible canyons of Uilcapampa.
It will be remembered that Father Calancha
relates the trials of the first two missionaries in
this region, who at the peril of their lives urged the
Inca to let them visit the "University of Idolatry,"
at "Vilcabamba Viejo," "the largest city" in the
province. Machu Picchu admirably answers its re-
quirements. Here it would have been very easy for
the Inca Titu Cusi to have kept the monks in the
vicinity of the Sacred City for three weeks without
their catching a single glimpse of its unique temples
and remarkable palaces. It would have been possi-
ble for Titu Cusi to bring Friar Marcos and Friar
Diego to the village of Intihuatana near San Miguel,
at the foot of the Machu Picchu cliffs. The sugar
planters of the lower Urubamba Valley crossed the
bridge of San Miguel annually for twenty years in
blissful ignorance of what lay on top of the ridge
above them. So the friars might easily have been
THE ORIGIN OF MACHU PICCHU 335
lodged in huts at the foot of the mountain without
their being aware of the extent and importance of
the Inca "university." Apparently they returned
to Puquiura with so little knowledge of the archi-
tectural character of "Vilcabamba Viejo" that no
description of it could be given their friends, even-
tually to be reported by Calancha. Furthermore,
the difficult journey across country from Puquiura
might easily have taken "three days."
Finally, it appears from Dr, Eaton's studies that
the last residents of Machu Picchu itself were
mostly women. In the burial caves which we have
found in the region roundabout Machu Picchu the
proportion of skulls belonging to men is very large.
There are many so-called "trepanned " skulls. Some
of them seem to belong to soldiers injured in war by
having their skulls crushed in, either with clubs or
the favorite sling-stones of the Incas, In no case
have we found more than twenty-five skulls without
encountering some "trepanned" specimens among
them. In striking contrast is the result of the exca-
vations at Machu Picchu, where one hundred sixty-
four skulls were found in the burial caves, yet not
one had been "trepanned." Of the one hundred
thirty-five skeletons whose sex could be accurately
determined by Dr. Eaton, one hundred nine were
females. Furthermore, it was in the graves of the
females that the finest artifacts were found, showing
that they were persons of no little importance. Not
a single representative of the robust male of the
warrior type was found in the burial caves of
Machu Picchu.
336 INCA LAND
Another striking fact brought out by Dr. Eaton
is that some of the female skeletons represent
individuals from the seacoast. This fits in with
Calancha's statement that Titu Cusi tempted the
monks not only with beautiful women of the high-
lands, but also with those who came from the tribes
of the Yungas, or "warm valleys." The "warm
valleys" may be those of the rubber country, but
Sir Clements Markham thought the oases of the
coast were meant.
Furthermore, as Mr. Safford has pointed out,
among the artifacts discovered at Machu Picchu
was a "snuffing tube" intended for use with the
narcotic snuff which was employed by the priests
and necromancers to induce a hypnotic state. This
powder was made from the seeds of the tree which
the Incas called huilca or uilca, which, as has been
pointed out in Chapter XI, grows near these ruins.
This seems to me to furnish additional evidence
of the identity of Machu Picchu with Calancha's
*'Vilcabamba."
It cannot be denied that the ruins of Machu
Picchu satisfy the requirements of "the largest city,
in which was the University of Idolatry." Until
some one can find the ruins of another important
place within three days' journey of Pucyura which
was an important religious center and whose skeletal
remains are chiefly those of women, I am inclined
to believe that this was the "Vilcabamba Viejo" of
Calancha, just as Espiritu Pampa was the "Vilca-
bamba Viejo" of Ocampo.
In the interesting account of the last Incas pur-
THE ORIGIN OF MACHU PICCHU 337
porting to be by Titu Cusi, but actually written in
excellent Spanish by Friar Marcos, he says that his
father, Manco, fleeing from Cuzco went first "to
Vilcabamba, the head of all that province."
In the "Anales del Peru" Montesinos says that
Francisco Pizarro, thinking that the Inca Manco
wished to make peace with him, tried to please the
Inca by sending him a present of a very fine pony
and a mulatto to take care of it. In place of re-
warding the messenger, the Inca killed both man
and beast. When Pizarro was informed of this, he
took revenge on Manco by cruelly abusing the Inca's
favorite wife, and putting her to death. She begged
of her attendants that "when she should be dead
they would put her remains in a basket and let it
float down the Yucay [or Urubamba] River, that the
current might take it to her husband, the Inca."
She must have believed that at that time Manco
was near this river. Machu Picchu is on its banks.
Espiritu Pampa is not.
We have already seen how Manco finally estab-
lished himself at Uiticos, where he restored in some
degree the fortunes of his house. Surrounded by
fertile valleys, not too far removed from the great
highway which the Spaniards were obliged to use in
passing from Lima to Cuzco, he could readily attack
them. At Machu Picchu he would not have been so
conveniently located for robbing the Spanish cara-
vans nor for supplying his followers with arable
lands.
There is abundant archeologlcal evidence that the
citadel of Machu Picchu was at one time occupied
338 INCA LAND
by the Incas and partly built by them on the ruins
of a far older city. Much of the pottery is unques-
tionably of the so-called Cuzco style, used by the
last Incas. The more recent buildings resemble
those structures on the island of Titicaca said to
have been built by the later Incas. They also re-
semble the fortress of Uiticos, at Rosaspata, built
by Manco about 1537. Furthermore, they are by
far the largest and finest ruins in the mountains
of the old province of Uilcapampa and represent
the place which would naturally be spoken of by
Titu Cusi as the "head of the province." Espiritu
Pampa does not satisfy the demands of a place
which was so important as to give its name to the en-
tire province, to be referred to as "the largest city."
It seems quite possible that the inaccessible, for-
gotten citadel of Machu Picchu was the place chosen
by Manco as the safest refuge for those Virgins of
the Sun who had successfully escaped from Cuzco in
the days of Pizarro. For them and their attendants
Manco probably built many of the newer buildings
and repaired some of the older ones. Here they
lived out their days, secure in the knowledge that
no Indians would ever breathe to the conquistadores
the secret of their sacred refuge.
When the worship of the sun actually ceased
on the heights of Machu Picchu no one can tell.
That the secret of its existence was so well kept is
one of the marvels of Andean history. Unless one
accepts the theories of its identity with "Tampu-
tocco" and "Vilcabamba Vie jo," there is no clear
reference to Machu Picchu until 1875, when Charles
Wiener heard about it.
THE GORGES, OPENING WIDE APART, REVEAL UILCAPAMPA Si
S RANITE CITADEL, THE CROWN OF INCA LAND : MACHU PICCHU
THE ORIGIN OF MACHU PICCHU 339
Some day we may be able to find a reference in one
of the documents of the sixteenth or seventeenth
centuries which will indicate that the energetic
Viceroy Toledo, or a contemporary of his, knew of
this marvelous citadel and visited it. Writers like
Cieza de Leon and Polo de Ondegardo, who were
assiduous in collecting information about all the
holy places of the Incas, give the names of many
places which as yet we have not been able to identify.
Among them we may finally recognize the temples
of Machu Picchu. On the other hand, it seems
likely that if any of the Spanish soldiers, priests, or
other chroniclers had seen this citadel, they would
have described its chief edifices in unmistakable
terms.
Until further light can be thrown on this fascinat-
ing problem it seems reasonable to conclude that at
Machu Picchu we have the ruins of Tampu-tocco,
the birthplace of the first Inca, Manco Ccapac, and
also the ruins of a sacred city of the last Incas.
Surely this granite citadel, which has made such a
strong appeal to us on account of its striking beauty
and the indescribable charm of its surroundings,
appears to have had a most interesting history. Se-
lected about 800 A.D. as the safest place of refuge
for the last remnants of the old regime fleeing from
southern invaders, it became the site of the capital of
a new kingdom, and gave birth to the most remarka-
ble family which South America has ever seen. Aban-
doned, about 1300, when Cuzco once more flashed
into glory as the capital of the Peruvian Empire, it
seems to have been again sought out in time of
340 INCA LAND
trouble, when in 1534 another foreign invader ar«
rived — this time from Europe — with a burning
desire to extinguish all vestiges of the ancient re-
ligion. In its last state it became the home and
refuge of the Virgins of the Sun, priestesses of the
most humane cult of aboriginal America. Here,
concealed in a canyon of remarkable grandeur, pro-
tected by art and nature, these consecrated women
gradually passed away, leaving no known descend-
ants, nor any records other than the masonry walls
and artifacts to be described in another volume.
Whoever they were, whatever name be finally as-
signed to this site by future historians, of this I feel
sure — that few romances can ever surpass that of
the granite citadel on top of the beetling precipices
of Machu Picchu, the crown of Inca Land.
THE END
GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
Afiu: A species of nasturtium
with edible roots.
Aryballus: A bottle-shaped vase
with pointed bottom.
Azequia: An irrigation ditch or
conduit.
Bar-hold: A stone cylinder or
pin, let into a gatepost in
such a way as to permit the
gate bar to be tied to it.
Sometimes the bar-hold is
part of one of the ashlars of
the gatepost. Bar-holds are
usually found in the gateway
of a compound or group of
Inca houses.
Coca: Shrub from which co-
caine is extracted. The
dried leaves are chewed to
secure the desired deadening
effect of the drug.
Conquistadores: Spanish soldiers
engaged in the conquest of
America.
Eye-bonder: A narrow, rough
ashlar in one end of which a
chamfered hole has been cut.
Usually about 2 feet long, 6
inches wide, and 2 inches
thick, it was bonded into
the wall of a gable at right
angles to its slope and flush
with its surface. To it the
purlins of the roof could be
fastened. Eye-bonders are
also found projecting above
the lintel of a gateway to
a compound. If the "bar-
holds " were intended to
secure the horizontal bar of
an important gate, these eye-
bonders may have been for
a vertical bar.
Gobemador: The Spanish-speak-
ing town magistrate. The
alcaldes are his Indian aids.
Habas beans : Broad beans.
Huaca: A sacred or holy place or
thing, sometimes a boulder.
Often applied to a piece of
prehistoric pottery.
Ma&ana: To-morrow, or by and
by. The "manana habit" is
Spanish-American procrasti-
nation.
Mestizo: A half-breed of Spanish
and Indian ancestry.
Milpa: A word used in Central
America for a small farm or
clearing. The milpa system
of agriculture involves clear-
ing the forest by fire, destroys
valuable humus and forces
the farmer to seek new fields
frequently.
Montana: Jungle, forest. The
term usually applied by Pe-
ruvians to the heavily for-
ested slopes of the Eastern
Andean valleys and the
Amazon Basin.
Oca: Hardy, edible root, related
to sheep sorrel.
Quebrada: A gorge or ravine.
Quipu: Knotted, parti-colored
strings used by the ancient
Peruvians to keep records. A
mnemonic device.
Roof-peg: A roughly cylindrical
block of stone bonded into
344
GLOSSARY
a gable wall and allowed to
project 12 or 15 inches on the
outside. Used in connection
with " eye-bonders," the roof-
pegs served as points to which
the roof could be tied down.
Sol: Peruvian silver dollar, worth
about two shillings or a lit-
tle less than half a gold dol-
lar.
Soroche: Mountain-sickness.
Stone-peg: A roughly cylindrical
block of stone bonded into
the walls of a house and pro-
jecting 10 or 12 inches on the
inside so as to permit of its
being used as a clothes-peg.
Stone-pegs are often found
alternating with niches and
placed on a level with the
lintels of the niches.
Temblor: A slight earthquake.
Temporales: Small fields of grain
which cannot be irrigated
and so depend on the weather
for their moisture.
Teniente gobernador: Adminis-
trative officer of a small
village or hamlet.
Terremoto: A severe earthquake.
Tesoro: Treasure.
Tutu: A hardy variety of white
potato not edible in a fresh
state, used for making chuiio,
after drying, freezing, and
pressing out the bitter juices.
UUuca: An edible root.
Viejo: Old.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BIBLIOGRAPHY
OF THE
PERUVIAN EXPEDITIONS OF YALE UNIVERSITY
AND THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY
Thomas Barbour:
Reptiles Collected by Yale Peruvian Expedition of 1912. Pro-
ceedings of Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, Lxv,
505-507. September, 1913. i pi.
(With G. K. Noble:)
Amphibians and Reptiles from Southern Peru Collected by
Peruvian Expedition of 19 14-19 15. Proceedings of U.S. Na-
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Hiram Bingham:
The Ruins of Choqquequirau. American Anthropologist, xii,
505-525, October, 1910. lUus., 4 pi., map.
Across South America. Boston, Houghton Mifflin Company,
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The Ascent of Coropuna. Harper's Magazine, cxxiv, 489-502,
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348 BIBLIOGRAPHY
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O. F. Cook:
Quichua Names of Sweet Potatoes. Journal of Washington
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Staircase Farms of the Ancients. National Geographic Magazine,
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(With Alice C. Cook:)
Polar Bear Cacti. Journal of Heredity, Washington, D.C, viii,
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Some Landshells Collected by Dr. Hiram Bingham in Peru.
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Alexander W^ Evans:
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(With W. H. Buell:)
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Mr. Bingham in Vilcapampa, Geographical Journal, xxxviii.
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A Metallographic Description of Some Ancient Peruvian
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Superfamilies Vespoidea and Sphecoidea. Proceedings of U.S.
National Museum, XLiv, 439-454, 1913.
Leonhard Stejneger:
Results of Yale Peruvian Expedition of 191 1. Batrachians and
Reptiles. Proceedings of U.S. National Museum, XLV, 541-547,
1913-
Oldfield Thomas:
Report on the Mammalia Collected by Mr. Edmund Heller
during Peruvian Expedition of 1915. Proceedings of U.S. Na-
tional Museum, lviii, 217-249, 1920. 2 pi.
H. L. Viereck:
Results of Yale Peruvian Expedition of 191 1. Hymenoptera-
Ichneumonoidea. Proceedings of U.S. National Museum, XLiv,
469-470, 1913.
R. S. Williams:
Peruvian Mosses. Bulletin of Torrey Botanical Club, XLiii, 323-
334, June, 1916. 4 pi.
INDEX
Abancay, 183.
Aconcagua, Mt., 3, 44.
Adobe, 15, 129-132, 262.
Agriculture, 19, 55, 62, 72, 119,
121-125, 136, 144, 145, 148,
204-206, 235, 256, 275, 282,
283, 311, 319, 320, 326, 332-
334-
milpa, 293.
Aguardiente, 18, 231, 325.
Aguilar, Dr., 136, 137, 142.
Ajochiucha, 63, 65.
Alacena, 328.
Alcaldes, 114, 115, 236.
Almagro, 148, 170.
Alpacas, 57, 63-65, 85, 120, 146,
253, 258, 260.
wool of, 61, 63-65, 69, 88,
no, 174.
Alvarez, 317, 323, 325.
Amauta Empire, 1 18-120, Chap.
XVI, passim, 330-333.
Pachacuti VI, 118- 120, 306-
308, 330, 331-
Amazon, 116-117, 267.
American flag, 39, 46, 58.
American shoes, 18.
Ancestor worship, 132, 246, 332.
Andaray, 93.
Andenes, 56, 246, 247. See Ter-
races.
Anderson, E. L., ix.
Andes, 245.
Aneroids, 21, 34, 37, 38, 44.
Angostura Pass, 142, 143, 149.
Anta, 159.
Antabamba, province of, 51.
Antis, 183, 245
Ants, 300.
Ann, 87, 331.
Aplao, 17.
Appalachian Mt. Club, 35, 46.
Apurimac River bridge, i.
valley, 185, 194, 232,
253, 262, 269, 272, 273.
Araranca, 116.
Araucanians, 119.
Architecture of Incas, 104, 105,
130, 141, 142, 161, 211, 216,
237, 239, 242, 293-295, 321,
328, 33B.
Arequipa, 7, 9, 66, 95.
explosion and fire in, 95,
97.
Arma, Rio, 52.
Arrieros, 7, 29, 30, 49, 72, 158.
See Muleteers.
Arteaga, Melchor, 215, 315, 316,
319. 325-
Aryballus, 287, 296.
Ausangate, Mt., 137.
Axes, Inca, 288.
Ayacucho, 178, 253.
Ayahuaycco quebrada, 149-151,
154-156.
Aymara peddlers, 106.
secret societies, 107-108.
Aymaras, 102, 106, 109.
Azequias, 96, 139, 140, 143,
Balsas, 97, 98, 196, 299.
Banbaconas, 269. See Pampaco-
nas.
Bandelier, Adolph, 2, 44, 49, 102,
261.
Bar-holds, 129, 211.
Bassett, George, 75, 76.
Bears, 212.
Bees, 301.
Bells, church, 113, 256.
Benavides, Sr., 19, 94.
Bestor, Paul, ix.
354
INDEX
Betanzos, John, 184.
Birds, 77-79.
Bison, 153, 155, 156.
Biticos, 199.
Blaisdell, L. S., x.
Boat, folding, 75.
Boats, balsas, 97, 98.
Boba, 92.
Bolas, 175, 310.
Bones, Cuzco, 149-156.
Machu Picchu, 335,
Bowling-green, 181.
Bowman, Dr. Isaiah, viii, 46, 51,
53. 59, 60, 99, 150-154. 300, 323-
Bull-baiting, 108, 109.
Bulrushes, 97.
Bumstead, Albert H., ix, 112, 154,
225, 272.
Burial places, 84, 92, 287, 320,
328, 335-
Butler, Ellis Parker, 274, 275.
Cachimayo River, 148.
Cacti, 66, 89, 136.
Calancha, Father, 178, 179, 187,
188, 191, 216, 221, 222, 246,
248, 251, 253, 255, 263, 265,
266, 297, 298, 334-336.
Callanga ruins, 91-93.
Canihua, 123.
Caraveli Canyon, 89, 90.
Cargador, 28.
Carnegie Institution of Washing-
ton, Dept. of Terrestrial Mag-
netism, 21.
Carrasco, Sergeant, 215, 278,
315-317-
Castelnau, 205, 208.
Castilla, province of, 17.
Caterpillars, 205, 302.
Caves, 84, 246.
Machu Picchu, 320, 328,
335-
Paccaritampu, 120, 313,
327, 330.
Titicaca Island, loi.
Caves, Tocco, 329.
CcUumayu, 221-223.
Cerro Colorado, 16.
Chachani, Mt., 95.
Chacras, 256, 275, 282, 283, 293.
Chamberlain, Dr. Ralph V., 224.
Chancaca, 288.
Chapman, Frank, 79, 126.
Charaja, Ricardo, no.
Chasguis, 207.
Chauillay, 226, 227.
Chicha, 114, 123, 185.
Chichipampa, 65.
Chincheros, 204.
Chinchilla, 87.
Chinchon, Count of, 118.
Chinese folkways, 114.
Choqquechacca Bridge, 201. See
Chuquichaca.
Choqquequirau, 1-3, 199, 202,
220, 230, 232, 262, 298.
Christoval de Albornoz, 238, 239.
Chumpillo, Pampa of, 51.
Chunchullumayo River, 149.
Chiiiio, 25, 103, 280.
Chuquibamba, 19, 23, 50-52, 75,
94.
Chuquichaca Bridge, 184, 194,
195, 227, 228, 236.
Chuquipalpa, 188-190, 197, 201,
230, 246, 251.
Chuquipalta, 247, 251.
Cieza de Leon, 26, 51, 172, 173,
177,245,251,252,339.
Cists, burial, 92, 287.
Climate, vii, 10, li, 19, 57, 62,
102, 173, 205, 229, 254, 297,
301, 327, 332.
Coca, 231, 258, 259, 280, 293, 325,
331-
Coello, Prof. Alejandro, 19, 20,
Chap. II, passim.
Coenolestes, 212.
Cohoba, 217, 218.
Colcabamba, 72.
Colcampata, 163, 164.
INDEX
355
Collas, 117.
Colpani, 226, 282, 314.
Colta, 66, 71, 72.
Comberciato River, 300, 301.
Commerce. See Trade.
Community methods of labor,
122, 123.
Condesuyos, province of, 19.
Condore, Manuel, 257, 268, 273-
275. 277-
Conquistadores, 160, 167, 324, 333.
Conservidayoc, vii, 231, Chap.
XIV, passim, 298, 304.
Convencion, Province of, 200,
230.
Conway, Sir Martin, 33.
Cook, O. F., ix, 55, 112, 113, 121,
124, 143, 217, 317.
Copacabana fair, 106-109.
Cordillera Real, 105.
Coribeni River, 300.
Corihuayrachina, 213.
Coriri, 17.
Coropuna, Mt., 2, 3, 12, 14, 16,
20, 22, Chap. II, passim, 88,
323-
altitude of, 2, 3, 44, 45, 49.
devils, 26.
east peak, 45.
latitude and longitude, 49.
north peak, 41, 42, 44.
record left on, 46.
temperature, 37, 38, 45.
top of, 42-45. 51-53. 62.
Cosireni River, 273, 300-302.
Cotahuasi, 51, 55, 57, 59, 60.
"Cradle of Gold," 202.
Crampons, 35, 36.
Cumard, 317.
Curahuasi, 194.
Cuys, 223, 274, 275.
Cuzco, IX, I, 113, 137, 140, 145-
147. 157. Chap. VIII, passim,
185, 197, 203, 205, 210, 253,
273. 307, 308, 311, 312, 321,
323, 331-333. 339-
Cuzco, Basin and ruins, 134, 142-
148, 152, 155.
bones, 149-156.
gravels, 150, 151, 153-155.
Historical Society, 203.
hospital, 162.
merchants, 158, 244.
people in, 159-162, 200, 202.
siege of, 170.
university, l6l, 162, 226.
de Laet, 198.
Desert, coastal, vii, 10, 11, 15, 24,
43. 52, 89.
Devil, 248, 249.
Devils, Corpouna, 26.
Diego Mendez, 179, 182,
Diego Ortiz, Friar, 188, 190-193,
197, 238, 246, 252, 263, 297,
334-
Diseases, 127, 128, 261, 262.
Divers, black, 79.
Dogs, siincca shepherd, 121.
Drainage, 146.
Druggists, 128.
Ducks, 79.
Duque, Don Pedro, x, 228-231,
266.
Dyes, 107.
Earthquakes, 95, 96, 281, 282,
311-
Eaton, Dr. George F., ix, 151,
152, 154-156, 335, 336.
Encomienda, 220.
Equipment of Expeditions, 4-6,
10, 13, 21, 34-36, 38-40-
Erdis, E. C, ix.
Eromboni Pampa, 294, 297.
Erving, Dr. William G., ix, 149,
162.
Eskimo, 125, 127.
Espiritu Pampa, 269, 278, 286,
Chap. XV passim, 306, 336-
338.
Eucalyptus trees, 66, 70, 89, 145.
356
INDEX
Eye-bonders, 21 1.
Fair at Copacabana, 106-109.
at Lake Parinacochas, 69,
83.
Farrabee, Dr. William C, 202.
Fer-de-lance, 315.
Ferris, Dr. H. B., 126, 127.
Fertilizers, 56, 103.
Fig trees, 89, 283.
Fishes, Inca, 100.
in Lake Titicaca, 99.
Fishing, 301.
Fitzgerald, explorer, 33.
Flags, 39, 46, 58.
Flamingoes, 73, 77-79.
Lake of, 50, 77.
Fleas, 93, 137.
Food boxes of expeditions, 3-6,
34, 39,
crops, 19, 56, 57, 62, 66, 72,
73, 86, 103, 121, 123, 124, 136,
173, 282, 286, 331.
of Indian carriers, 280.
Foote, Professor Harry W., ix, 4,
149, 151, 202, 223-225, 231,
266, 267, 270, 283, 286, 304.
Footprints of the sun and moon,
102.
Ford, Dr. David E., ix, 300.
Forests. See Trees.
Forts and Fortresses, 135, 136,
164-168, 171, 206, 209, 210,
236, 241, 252, 307, 326, 338.
Fountains, 141, 146, 294, 295.
Friar Diego Ortiz, 188, 190-193,
197, 238, 246, 252, 263, 297,
334-
Marcos Garcia, 182, 187,
188, 190, 191, 197, 238, 246,
248, 252, 263, 297, 334, 337.
Melchior, 184.
Fuel, 103, 144, 145.
Gamarra, Corporal, 9, Chap. II,
passim, 59, 60.
Games of chance, 107.
, bowling-on-the-green, 179,
181, 244.
checkers and chess, 179.
Inca, 185.
quoits, 179, 244.
Garcia. See Friar Marcos.
Garcia de Loyola, Captain, 186,
194-197, 208, 227, 233, 236,
239, 241, 242, 252, 265, 298-
300, 304.
Garcilasso Inca de la Vega, 173-
175, 181, 182, 185, 194, 196,
255, 304, 309-
Gendarmes, 9, 25, 57, 68, 159, 215,
271, 282.
Giesecke, Dr., 142, 162, 163.
Gilbert, G. Bruce, ix, 121.
Glacial man, 153.
Glaciers, vii. Chap. II, passim,
52, 171, 273.
Gold. See Ore.
Gomez Perez, 1 79-1 81.
Grace Brothers, 21.
Grace & Company, W. R., x.
Granaries, 135, See Storehouses.
Granite, white, 243, 320.
wall at Machu Picchu, 320,
321.
Gravels, Cuzco, 150, 151, 153-
155-
Green, Henry J., 21.
Gregory, Professor Herbert E.,
ix, 99, 143, 154, 161.
Grosvenor, Gilbert, ix.
Guanaco, 64.
Guaynapucara, 241, 242, 252.
Gulls, 79.
Guzman, Alonzo Enriques de,
170, 175-
the Indian carrier, 277-
279, 280, 284, 304, 305.
Hahas beans, 124.
Hakluyt Society, 118, 307.
Hamilton, Lord Frederick, 113.
INDEX
357
Hardy, Osgood, ix.
Harkness, Edward S., ix.
Harness, 134.
Harper's Magazine, viii,
Harv^ard Anthropological Expedi-
tion, 202.
Harvard Observatory, Arequipa,
7, 13, 21, 45.
Hasbrouck, J. J., ix.
Havaspampa, 208.
Hay, Clarence L., viii, 2, 253.
Heald, K. C, ix, 154.
Heller, Edmund, ix, 212, 217,
300, 301.
Hendriksen, Kai, ix, 22, 46, 49,
51, 59, 61, 212, 272, 302, 323.
Hicks, J., 21.
Hill of Roses. See Rosaspata.
Hinckley, F., 8, 9, 13^15.
Honolulu, Nuuanu Pali near,
314-
salt lake near, 76.
Horses, 134.
Hospital at Cuzco, 162, 163,
Hoyara, 256, 257.
Hrdlicka, Dr. Ales, 126.
Huacas, 147, 246, 247, 249.
Huaccoto quarries, i6i.
Huadquiiia, 208, 219, 220, 225,
259, 282, 325.
Huanacaurai, Mt., 144.
Huancahuanca 66, 67, 71.
Huaracondo, 159.
Huarancalla, 188, 252, 253.
Huarancalque, 253.
Huascaran, Mt., 35.
Huatanay River and valley, 133-
137, 142, 144, 148, 149, 154.
Hiiayara, 213.
Huayna Picchu, Mt., 201, 215,
318.
Huayrachina, 213.
Huilca, ix, 218, 264, 336.
Hunting and fishing, 301.
Hurtado, General Martin, 194,
195- 197. 227.
Ibis, 79.
Ideographs, 309, 310.
Idma, 235.
Inca agriculture, 103, 144, 332.
architecture, 104, 105, 130,
141, 142, 166, 211, 216, 237,
239, 242, 243, 294, 295, 321,
328, 332.
artifacts, 244.
Atahualpa, 170.
axes, 288.
Beatrix Coya, 183.
capital, 262.
Carlos, 163.
colonizaton methods, 141.
dogs, 121.
Empire, 133, 332, 333.
enghieering, 331, 332.
fish, 100.
forts and fortresses, 135,
146, 164-168, 171, 209, 210,
236, 237, 240, 241, 245.
Garcilasso, 173-175, 181,
182, 185, 255.
Hualpa, 196.
Huayna Capac, 170, 194.
labor system, 122, 166, 172,
174, 206, 207, 208, 219, 276,
331-
Manco, 2, 170-178, 194,
195, 197, 208, 210, 227, 244,
245, 247, 251, 254, 258, 260,
273, 297, 311, 330, 334, 337,
338, 339-
murder of, 1 81-183,
179, 180, 181, 244.
— Manco Ccapac, 170, 311-
313. .327, 329, 330, 332.
— Nusta, 250.
— origin, myths concerning,
333-
— palaces, 163, 243, 245.
Philipe Quispetutio, 241.
— pottery, 131, 142, 287, 293,
295, 296.
priests, 217, 218, 248, 336.
358
INDEX
Inca property, 122, 207.
raids, 1 73-1 75. 244, 253,
337-
religious customs and festi-
vals, 105, 144, 147, 168, 185,
189, 194, 203, 217, 218, 246,
248, 250, 264, 265, 333.
roads, 84-86.
Rimachi Yupanqui, 183.
ruins, 51, 65, 83-86, loi,
117, 129-131, 135-142, 146,
147, 165-168, 206, 207, 210-
212, 215, 232, 236, 237, 239,
240, 242, 268, 271, 292, 294,
296, 298, 312, Chap. XVII,
passim.
runners, 100, 207.
Sayri Tupac, 183-186, 197,
199, 204, 245.
sculpture, 100, loi.
stonework, 104, 129, 135,
160, 163, 165, 166, 206, 224,
321, 322.
storehouses, 52, 65, 207,
224, 225, 295.
temples, 51, 129-132, 213,
247,321,322,327.
Titu Cusi Yupanqui, 163,
182, 183, 186, 187, 189, 191-
193, 197, 238, 241, 244-246,
248, 252, 334.
Tupac Amaru, 183, 186,
193, 195-197, 216, 227, 234,
241, 245, 268, 298-300, 303,
304-
Viracocha, 131, 132.
wall at La Raya, 117, 119,
120.
weapons, 175.
Yupanqui, 147.
Incahuasi, 83, 84, 86.
Incas, 123, 140-143, 165, 168,
203, 325.
"Cradle of" viii,
Last Four, Chap. IX, passim,
304, 306.
Incas, Lost City of first, 306.
Sacred City of last, 339.
Indian population, 261, 263.
Indians, 18.
Amazonian, 303.
Bolivian, 103.
Campas, 267, 290, 303.
carriers, 271, 275, 276, 283,
284.
clothing, 107, 108, 115, 116,
161, 289-290, 302, 303.
customs and superstitions,
25-27,70,83,97, 106-109,115,
116, 121-123, 128,203,204, 250,
Manaries, 196, 255, 299.
at Pampaconas, 271, 282,
292.
at Lake Parinacochas, 83.
Pichanguerras, 289-291.
Pilcosones, 255.
savage, 267, 284, 286, 289,
294,302.
Yungas, 265, 336.
Insects, 224, 286, 300, 301.
Intihuatana, 247, 250, 334.
Irrigation, 14, 55, 67.
Jamieson, Dr. George S., 82.
Jesuits, 220, 228.
Jew's-harps, 244.
Johnson, Frederic B., x.
Kipling's "Explorer" 2.
Kissing, ceremony of, 189, 248.
Kkaira, 143.
Koati, island of, lOl, 104, 105.
Koolau Ditch Trail, 314.
Kori, 213.
Labor, methods of, 122, 123, 133,
219, 271, 275, 276.
La Farge, Bancel, 104.
Lake Morkill, 148, 149.
Muyna, 136.
Parinacochas. See Parina-
cochas.
INDEX
359
Lake Titicaca. See Titicaca.
Lampa, 63-71.
Lanius, Paul B., ix.
La Raya, 116, 117, 119-121, 123,
307.
Las Casas, Bishop, 179, 218.
Las Salinas, 148, 329.
Lava, 24, 31, 52, 53, 85, 88, 91,
132, 136.
La Victoria Mine, 89, 91.
Leagues, 7.
Leguia, President A. B., ix, 68.
Lima, 10, 57, 66, 185.
Limatambo, 194.
Little, Joseph, ix.
Lizarraga, Sr., 219, 221, 226, 324.
Lkalla Chaca, 146-148.
Llacta, 211.
Llamas, 51, 52, 57, 63-65, 85, 86,
91, no, III, 146, 160, 174,
253, 258, 260.
Lomellini, Don Cesare, x, 163,
164, 201.
Lucma, 230, 231, 235-237, 251,
253, 262.
Lucre Basin and ruins, 134, 136,
139-141-
Lucumayo River, 194, 201, 226.
Macaws, 269, 296, 298.
Macchini, 147.
Machu Picchu, ix, 135, 201, 202,
215-222, 226, 265, 297, 298,
306, Chap. XVn, passim, 323,
Chap. XVIII, passim.
last residents of, 335,
336.
McKinley, Mt., expedition, 8, 31.
Majes, 18.
desert of, vii, 15, 16, 94.
River and valley, 16, 17, 19.
Manantial de agua, 246.
Mandor Pampa, 214, 215, 315,
325-
Manioc, 286.
Mapillo River and valley, 253.
Map, de Laet's, 198.
Mercator's, 198.
Miller's, 50.
Raimondi's, 17, 232, 260,
269, 272.
Royal Geographical Society,
269, 272.
Wiener's, 201, 211.
Maquina, La, 214.
Maracnyoc, 232, 234.
Maraicasa Valley, 88.
Maranura, 325.
Maras, 159, 231.
Marcos Garcia, Friar, 182, 187,
188, 190, 191, 197, 238, 246,
248, 252, 263, 297, 334, 337-
Marcou, 205.
Markham, Sir Clements, 50, 74,
118, 182, 312, 327, 328, 336.
Marsupial, 213.
Mastadon, 149,
Mato-palo, 283.
Maucallacta, 312, 313.
Mauna Kea, Hawaii, 43.
Maynard, Clarence F., ix, 300,
302.
Means, Philip A., 118, 307.
Medanos, 10-12, 16.
Medicines, 99, 128, 129, 163.
Megaliths, 207, 210.
Melchior, Friar, 184.
Mendez. See Diego Mendez.
Mercator, cartographer, 198.
Meridian, 73d west of Greenwich,
3, 8, 22, 51, 59.
Mestizos, 221, 258, 259.
Metals. See Ore.
Miller, Gen. William, 50, 208.
Millstones, 238.
Milpa. See Agriculture.
Mines, 232, 234, 238, 256, 257-
259, 261, 262, 272.
Huadquiiia, 220.
La Victoria, at Caraveli, 89,
91.
Misti, El, 8, 53, 95.
36o
INDEX
Mitchell, Mrs. Alfred, x,
Mochadero, 189, 247.
Mogrovejo, Evaristo, 230, 235,
236, 239, 240, 246, 271, 275,
277.
Pio, 230.
Molina, 147.
Mollusks, 231.
Momori, 196, 299, 300.
Monkeys, 301-304.
Monoliths at Tiahuanaco, 100.
Montana, 6, 10, 255, 266-268.
Montesinos, Fernando, 1 18-120,
179, 183, 184, 307, 309, 310,
337-
Morkill, Geoffrey W., ix.
Morkill, Lake, 148, 149.
Morkill, William L., x, 149.
Mortars and pestles, 92, 238, 239.
Mountain sickness, 24, 36, 46, 47,
63, 270. See Soroche.
Muleteers, 7, 28-31, 51, 70, 88-90,
93, 94-
Mummies, 212.
Mungi, 62.
Muyna, Lake and town, 136.
"Nakedness" taboo, loi.
Nasca, 84, 85.
National Geographic Magazine,
viii, 216.
Society, ix.
Nelson, Dr. Luther T., 158, 159.
New Britain hardware, 107.
New Haven hardware, 107.
Niches, 129, 130, 141, 142, 146,
148, 211, 237, 239, 242, 246,
295. 296, 320, 322, 328.
step-topped, 104, 105.
Nunez, Prefect of Cuzco, 157,
199.
Nusta Isppana, 247-250, 251,
262.
Oases, 10, 12, 13, 15, 52, 89, 91.
Oca, 86, 124, 331.
Ocampo, Baltasar de, 216, 227;
232, 233, 234, 238, 240, 242,
243, 245, 252, 257, 258, 263,
265, 266, 272, 298, 336.
Occobamba, 124.
Ollantaytambo, 137, 170, 171,
194, 201, 205-207, 209, 210,
222, 225, 226, 295, 319.
Onccoy, 257, 258.
Oranges, 228.
Ore, 272.
crushing mill, 238, 239, 252.
Orejones, 173.
Orepesa, 137, 142.
Basin and ruins, 134, 141,
143-
Ortiz. See Friar Diego Ortiz.
Owls, 80.
Ox, amphibious, 79.
Pacaypata, 283.
Paccaritampu, 120, 312, 313,
327, 328, 330.
Pachacuti VI, 1 18-129, 330, 331.
Pachacuti VII, 308, 310.
Pachacuti Yamqui Salcamayhua,
311. 313, 328.
Pachatucsa, Mt., 144.
Pack animals and loading of, 7,
8, 14, 83, 90, 91.
Palaces, 243, 245.
Paltaybamba, 233-236, 266.
Pampa, 11, 205, 214, 215.
Pampa Ccahua, 212.
Pampacolca, 27.
Pampa Colorada, 43, 52.
Pampaconas Indians, 271.
River and valley, 273, 280,
283, 284, 299, 300.
village, 268, 269, 271, 277,
280, 288, 298, 304.
Pampa of Ghosts, 269, 278, Chap.
XV, passim.
Pampas River, 253, 272.
Pancorbo, Sr., Jose S., 200, 233,
259, 266, 267.
INDEX
361
Panta, Mt., 171.
Panticalla Pass, 171, 176, 194,
201, 207, 208.
Pararca, 72.
Parinacochas Basin and ruins,
74, 83-87, 91-
Parinacochas, Lake, 50, 61, 69,
73, 81-83.
Bathymetric survey of,
74-76.
in, 82.
birds of, 77-79.
depth of, 75-77.
Fair, 69, 83.
temperature of water
water, composition of,
8,31.
82, 83.
Parker, Prof. H. C
Pastor, Dr., 19.
Pata, 211.
Patagonians, 119,
Patallacta, 211.
Pava de la montana, 289.
Paz Soldan, 199, 211, 262, 313.
Peanuts, 269, 286, 298, 304.
Peat, 52.
Peccaries, 300.
Peruvian Expeditions, 3, 200,
202, 212.
Peruvian gentlemen, 28.
highlanders, loi, 103, 124-
127, 226.
Pestles, 92, 238, 239.
Pichu Pichu, Mt., 95.
Picol, Mt., 143, 161.
"Picos, " 198.
Pictographic rocks, 16, 17, 19,91.
Pigs, 278, 279.
Guinea, 223, 274, 275.
Pigu^eed, 123, 124,
"Pincos," 198.
Piptadenia peregrina, 218.
Piquillacta, Mt., 135-138.
ruins of, 134-141.
Piri, 208.
Pisac, 137.
Pitas, 16.
Pitcos, 199, 216, 240, 252.
Pizarro, Francisco, 148, 168, 170,
171, 175, 177-180, 210, 232,
251, 253, 333, 337-
Gonzalo, 178-180, 227, 244.
Plantain, 331.
Ploughing, 122, 123.
Pneumonia, 127.
Polo de Ondegardo, 100, 146, 207,
339.
Polynesian kumala, 317.
Poplar trees, 206.
Posnansky, Sr., 98, 99.
Potatoes, 26, 86, 121, 146, 160,
212, 257, 331.
frozen, 25, 103. See Chuno.
sweet, 282, 317, 331.
Potsherds, 86, 93, 142, 244, 250.
Pottery, found, 86, 287, 295, 296,
338.
making, 131, 132.
Prain, Mr., manager of "La
Victoria" mine, 89.
Pre-Inca civilization, 85, 86, 91-
93, 100, loi, 118, 137, 140, 152.
Prescott, William H., 148, 175,
198.
Pucara ruins, 146.
Pucard, 236.
Pucyura, 200, 232, 237, 252-254,
259, 260, 262, 263, 297, See
Puquiura.
PumaUrco caves, 312, 313.
Puno, 97.
Puquiura, 187, 190, 191, 200, 238,
248, 252, 255, 263, 297, 335.
See Pucyura.
Puyusca, 73-75, 83.
Qqutnte, 211.
Quichua language, ix, 121, 199.
holiday makers, 1 14.
Quichuas, no, 125-127, 152, 158;
176.
occupation, 120, 121.
362
INDEX
Quichuas, studies made of, 125,
126, 158, 159.
Quillabamba, 228, 230.
Quinine, 118.
Quinoa, 124, 331.
Quipus, 100, 309, 310.
Quispicanchi, 141.
Quispi Cusi, 268.
Rabbit-squirrels, 87.
Racche, 129-132.
Raimondi, 3, 27, 44, 83, 199, 208,
211, 232, 234, 237, 238, 252,
260, 262, 269, 272, 325.
Rainy season, 76, 234.
Repartimientos, 133, 180, 220.
Reynolds, Miss Mary G., x.
Richarte, 317-319, 323, 325-
Rio Grande Valley, 91.
Roads, Inca, 84-86.
modern, 202, 214, 259, 318,
324, 325-
Rock circles, 85.
Rodriguez de Figueroa, Diego,
186, 244, 268, 298, 299.
Romero, Carlos, 200, 232.
Roof pegs, 211, 295.
Roof tiles, 295.
Roofs, corrugated iron, 116.
Roosevelt, Theodore, 58.
Root-crops, 56, 86, 87, 103, 121,
123, 124, 331.
Root, Elihu, 58.
Rosaspata, 237, 239, 240, 242,
243, 246, 252, 258, 260 262,
268,306,338.
Royal Geographical Society pub-
lications, 50, 269, 272.
Rubber, 228, 233, 235, 255, 262,
266, 267, 291.
Ruins, 200, 201, 221, 236, 238,
239, 243, 246, 262, 268, 306, 312.
Callanga, 91-93.
Ccllumayu, 221-223.
Chichipampa, 65,
Cboqquequirau, 1-3, 199,
202, 220, 230, 232, 262, 298.
Ruins, Chumpillo, 51, 52.
Corihuayrachina, 213.
Eromboni Pampa, 294, 297.
Espiritu Pampa, Chap. XIV
and XV, passim, 206.
Hoyara (Huayara), 234.
Huayna Picchu, 215.
Incahuaracana, 236, 237,
239-
Incahuasi, 83, 84, 86.
La Raya, 117, 119.
Machu Pirchu, 215, Chap.
XVII and XVIII, passim.
Nusta Isppana, 247-250.
Ollantaytambo, 137, 205-
207.
Paccaritampu, 312, 327.
Panticalla Pass, 207.
Patallacta, 211.
Piquillacta, 134-141.
Pre-Inca, 86, 91, 100, 137.
Pucara, 146.
Racche, 129-131.
Rosaspata, 237, 239, 240,
242, 306.
Rumiccolca, 134-141.
Rumihuasi, 148.
Sacsahuaman, 164-168.
Salapunco, 208-210.
Say 11a, 142-144.
Tampu Machai, 146, 147.
Tipon, 141, 142.
Titicaca and Koati Islands,
lOI.
Torontoy, 211, 212.
Uncapampa, 239, 242.
Yurak Rumi, 222, 224, 225.
Rumiccolca, Mt., 139.
ruins, 134-141.
Rumihuasi, 148.
Runners, Inca, 100, 207.
Saavedra, 266-268, 284-292, 296,
304.
Sacrifice, human, 147, 334.
INDEX
363
Sacsahuaman, 164-168, 209.
Saddles, 134.
Safford, W. E., 217, 218, 335.
Salapunco, 208, 209, 210.
Salcantay, Mt., 171, 208, 245,
253. 325-
River and valley, 225.
Salt works, 148, 329.
Samoans, 103.
San Fernando, 280-282, 304.
San Francisco de la Victoria, 256,
257, 260.
San Geronimo, 142-144.
San Miguel River and bridge,
200, 217, 219, 221, 233, 324,
334-
Valley, 235, 262, 266, 267.
San Sebastian, 148.
Santa Ana, 117, 200, 227-231,
Chap. XI, passim, 259.
Santa Rosa, no, 112-116.
Sarasara, Mt., 67, 72, 81, 87.
Sartiges, Count de, 199, 208, 220,
324. 325-
Savages, 267, 284, 286, 287, 289,
290, 294, 296, 300-304.
Saylla, 142-144, 149.
Schools, 237, 238.
Scissors, 244.
Sculpture, 100, loi.
Seahorse, 99.
Seneca, Mt., 203.
Seymour, Professor T. D., 93.
Sheep, 57, 63, 69, 80, 120, 145,
275-
Shells, fossil, 149.
land, 231.
Shepherds, 65, 121.
clothing of, 81.
superstitious, 80, 81, 86.
Sicuani, 128, 129.
Sierra, John, 184, 185.
Sihuas, desert and pampa of, 12,
14.
oasis of, 15.
Simaponte, 196, 299, 300.
Sirialo River, 300.
Skulls, horses', 116,
trepanned, 84, 335.
Slings, 175, 176, 237, 310.
Snails, 231.
Snakes, 43, 92, 315, 317.
pictures and carvings of,
91.
Snow, 20, Chap. II, passim, 72,
85.
blindness, 27, 49.
creepers, 35, 36, 41,
Snuff, 217, 218, 264, 336.
Soiroccocha, Mt., 112, 171.
Solimana, Mt., 43, 53, 54, 62.
Sondor, 88.
Sorata, Mt., 105.
Soray, Mt., 171, 208, 253.
Soroche, 25, 32, 34, 37, 38, 40. See
Mountain sickness.
Spanish Conquest of Peru, Chap.
IX, passim.
fugitives, 179-182, 244,
245-
— —laws, 133, 179, 180, 197.
Spiders, 224.
Squier, E. G., I, 129, 130, 136,
139, 157. 159, 205.
Stairs, stone, 141, 274, 292, 321.
Stephenson, Robert, ix.
Steps, ornamental use in architec-
ture, 104-105.
Stone-granary, 135.
pegs, 296, 320.
seats, 251.
Stonework, 104, 129, 135, 160,
163, 165, 166, 206, 224, 321,
322.
Storehouses, Inca, 52, 65, 207,
224, 225, 295.
Sugar, 5, 32, 41, 270, 288, 304.
cane, 219, 220, 259, 285, 286.
mill, 286-288.
Sumner's "Folkways," 309.
Sun, Prayer to, 248.
Temples and Houses of,
188, 190, 191, 193, 197, 241,
246, 249, 251, 252.
364
INDEX
Sun, Virgins of, 193, 265, 297,
333, 338, 340.
Worship of, 105, 147, 167,
168, 189, 203, 248, 249, 333,
334. 338.
Suncca dogs, 121.
Taft, Hon. William H., x.
Tailor at Cotahuasi, 60.
Tambo Machai, 147. See Tampu
Machai.
Tampu, 20j,T,is, 328.
Tampu Machai, 146, 147.
Tampu-tocco, Lost City of Incas,
120, 306, 307, 311-313, 327-
331,333,338,339-
rulers and priests of, 308-
310.
Tea, 32, 39, 270, 305.
Tejada brothers, 7, 28-31, 51, 70,
88, 89, 93, 94.
Temblor, 281.
Temperature, 27, 28, 45, 82, 103.
Temple of Three Windows, 322,
327-
Viracocha, 129-132.
Temples, 51, 129-132, 213, 247,
321, 322.
Temporales, 124, 204.
Tents, 31, 32, 37.
Terraces {see Andenes), 54-57,
62, 66, 84, loi, 105, 124, 135,
140, 141, 146, 165-167, 204,
206, 209, 21 1-2 1 3, 215, 246,
247, 294, 296, 315, 317, 319,
320, 325.
Thomas, Oldfield, 213.
Tiahuanaco, 98, 100, lOI.
Tierra del Fuego, 127.
Tilano de Anaya, 192, 193.
Timpucpuquio, 147.
Tincochaca, 240, 251, 252.
River, 239.
Tipon ruins, 141, 152.
Titicaca, Lake, Chap. V, passim.
climate, 102.
depth, 75, 99.
Titicaca, Lake, fish in, 99.
islands of, 101-103,
333-
temperature of water,
Titicaca Basin, no, 116, 120.
tribes, 117, 118.
Tobacco, 286, 2i
Tocco, 328.
cave called, 329.
Toledo, Don Francisco de, 192,
193, 227, 241, 277, 329, 339.
Tompkins, Mrs. Blanche P., x.
Torontoy, 209-213, 314, 319.
Torres, Sr. Lopez, 229, 266, 293.
Totoras, 97.
Trade and commerce, 106, 114,
128, 158, 207.
Transportation, difficulties of, 14,
89-91, 172, 214, 272.
Traveling, difficulties of, 58, 67,
88.
Treasure seeking, 19, 52, 202,
230, 242.
Tree ferns, vii, 284.
Trees and "tree line" in Andes,
66, 70, 89, 112, 113, 144, 145,
206, 212, 236, 283.
Ttica Ttica Pass, 144, 203.
Tuberculosis, 128.
Tucker, H. L., ix, 8, 9, Chap. II,
passim, 58, 75, 80, 88, 92, 212,
302, 323.
Tullumayu, 164.
Turkeys, 289.
TtUu potato, 86.
Ubinas, Mt., 53.
Ucayali River, 116.
Uilca {see Hiiilca), 218, 336.
Uilcamayu (Uilca) River, 117,
203,219.
Uilcapampa, ix, 87, 171, 172, 183,
184, 192, 195, 197, 198, 208,
219, 227, 232, 240, 241, 243,
251, Chap. XIII, passim, 273,
297, 322. See Vilcabamba.
Old, 266, 268.
INDEX
365
Uiticos, ix, 171, 172, 177-179,
181, 183, 184, 188-190, 192,
193. 197. 198, 201, 216, 221,
227, 229, 230, 232, 238, 240,
241, 245, 246, 251, 253-255,
258, 260, 261, 263, 298, 306,
337. 338.
Z7//t<CM, 87,331.
Uncapampa, 239, 242.
Ungacacha, 264, 297.
"University of Idolatry," 264,
265, 297, 334-336.
Vru, 205.
Urubamba, Grand Canyon of,
213. 314. 330-
meaning of, 205.
rapids, 318.
River and valley, 116, 117,
120, 133, 195, 201, 203, 204,
208, 209, 215, 228, 259, 262,
272, 273, 299, 337.
town of, 204.
tribes, 118.
Vaccination, 125.
Vargas, Senora Carmen, 219-222.
Velasco, Luis de, 257.
Ventana, 328.
Venus, morning star, 94.
Veronica, Mt., 171, 207, 208, 325.
Vicunas, 54, 69, 87, 1 1 1, 1 12.
Vilcabamba, 199, 227, 234, Chap.
XIII, passim, 268, 269, 271,
288, 297, 299, 303, 337. See
Uilcapampa.
River and valley, 227, 232-
234, 236-238, 252, 254, 260,
272.
Viejo, 263-266, 297, 298,
335, 336, 338.
Vilcanota Cordillera, I ID.
River and valley, 117, 134,
135. 137-
Villadiego, Captain, 175-177, 194,
208.
Viracocha, Temple of, 129-132.
Viscachas, 87.
Viscarra, Sr., 57-61.
Vista Alegre, 283.
Viticos (Vitcos), 182, iq8, 199,
251, 260.
Vitor, 9, 10.
oasis of, 12, 13.
Volcanoes, 30, 43,53, 81, 95, 138.
Wars, civil of Spanish conquerors,
148, 179.
of Independence, 50.
of Spanish Conquest, 168,
Chap. IX, passim.
tribal, 1 18-120, 332.
Water supply, 234. See Azeguias.
Watkins, Casimir, 8, 9, 35, 45-47,
59, 75, 76.
Weapons, 92, 120, 175, 195, 301,
310.
Weaving, 60, 69, 70, no, 120,
121.
Whirl-bobs, Inca, 244.
White Rock over spring, 188-190,
200, 240, 247-251.
Whooping cough, 37, 47, 48.
Whymper, 33.
Wiener, Charles, 201, 202, 205,
207, 208, 211, 215, 229, 324,
338.
Willow trees, 13, 145, 206.
Wind, 10, II, 32, 35, 46, 82, 103.
Windows, Masonry wall with
(Temple of) Three, 312, 313,
320, 322, 327, 328, 332, 333.
Wine growers, 18.
jars, 13, 18.
Woodpeckers, 79.
Writing, invention of, 309, 3 10.
Yale flag, 39, 46.
Yucay, 137, 186, 194, 197, 203,
204.
Yucca, 331.
Yurak Rumi, 189, 197, 221-2^5,
251-
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